


The Hunchback of Notre Dan

by orphan_account



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Victorian, Burn Victim!Dan, Cheesy, Creepy Priest dude, Fluff, General!Phil, Huncback of Notre Dame!AU, Love at First Sight, M/M, Minor Character Death, a lot of fire, sorry about the title I couldn't come up with anything else, there's a dog in this, this is very heavily based off of the actual disney movie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-16
Updated: 2017-11-16
Packaged: 2019-02-03 04:08:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12740706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: After twenty six years of solitude after his family died in a mysterious fire, Dan gains the courage to disobey his strict, controlling, adoptive father, catholic priest Clide Niccolo, and visit London for a festival. There, he meet's the famous General Phil Lester who is instantly drawn to Dan. The only problem is that Phil is not the only one with his heart set on winning Dan over. Will they be able to escape the threat to their lives, or burn with the rest of London?





	1. Chapter 1

**Hello, it's your author speaking! I'd just like to say thank you for taking your time out of the day to read this, I hope it doesn't suck!**

**If you couldn't tell by the terrible title, this fanfic is mainly based off of the Disney version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Aka my favorite Disney movie of all time)**

**Also, there are some non-con elements in here, and I'll give warnings before those chapters. Anyways, I hope you do enjoy the story at least a little bit, adios!**

 


	2. Burn Baby Burn

     Long ago to the north of London, there was a family. They were famously known across the England as the Howells. They had more wealth and gold than any other family in the area and in the forests of southern England, owned an enormous manor. Here, a happy couple lived with each other, and had two small babies. Daniel and Adrian Howell.

                                                                                                                          --------------------                                       

     “Oh Clide, would you please go fetch me a snack. You know how hungry I get after breastfeeding,” Mrs Howell called across the room as her son, Daniel tried to suckle at her breast. “Sure thing, ma’am.” Clide responded, an obvious look of disgust as he watched his boss pull down her shirt. According to the servant’s opinion, it was a repulsive act that should be done in the bathroom. “Thank you,” Mrs Howell said, watching as the middle aged man left the room. “Why is he so grumpy all of the time Dan?” Mrs Howell whispered to her baby with a laugh. The child however, did not respond, his mouth was full at the moment. “Dear, have you seen my spectacles anywhere?” Asked Mr Howell as he walked into the den with a furrow in his brow. “No honey, perhaps you left them in Adrian’s room when you put him down for his nap,” Mrs Howell suggested. “Maybe, I will go check.” Her husband replied, kissing her on the forehead before heading up the stairs.

     “What a goof,” Mrs Howell chuckled to herself. “Damn it!” She heard her husband exclaim from the room above them. Once again she laughed to herself, but quit when she felt the familiar rumble of her stomach from the breastfeeding. “Clide! What are you up to?!” She shouted, wondering how long it could possibly take to get a snack. But she had no idea what Clide Niccolo was planning to do in the kitchen. He stood with a platter of crackers and the most expensive cheese his masters’ owned. “Coming Mrs Howell!” He yelled back. But before he grabbed the plate and left, Clide took a cup of gasoline, and poured it all into the oven, which was beginning to burn hotter and hotter by the second. Clide snickered, there was to be nothing left of this demonized family. He took the cheese and crackers and swiftly left the kitchen, guilt free. Not a single person would suspect the loyal servant of burning the house down.

   When Clide returned, Mrs Howell sat in her chair looking as sleepy as ever, staring down at her child in adoration. “Thank you, Clide. What would we do without you?” She asked, taking the platter from his hands. “Crash and burn,” Clide said jokingly, scowling on the inside. Mrs Howell gave a small laugh, took a bite of cheese and crackers, then said, “I’m awfully tired, could you put Daniel down for a nap?” Clide faked a smile and took the child from its mother. As he went up the stairs, the baby began to fall asleep in his arms, and Clide felt a twinge of something in his heart. “You’re just an innocent baby, you do not deserve to be raised in such an ungodly environment. Where the woman speaks at the dinner table, and they do not read the bible. It is preposterous,” Clide said to the baby. “Maybe, if you had the right upbringing…no. What am I thinking, they must all perish like the heathens they are!” Clide had to remind himself.

   He entered Daniel’s nursery, and laid the infant down in his crib. Clide couldn’t help but smell the faint aroma of smoke coming from the kitchen downstairs. It wouldn’t be long before the Howells began to take notice, and he knew he had to get out as quickly and subtly as possible. Clide was about to go back down the stairs, when he was stopped by Mr Howell at the top of the staircase. “Clide, I know you must be busy, but could you spare a minute of your time to help me find my spectacles. I have to respond to the letter I received from the King and Queen, but I cannot write without my spectacles. ‘God damn you, fool.’ Clide cursed in his head, he considered rejecting his master, but decided it would be best to act normal until the fire got more noticeable. “I will gladly help you find your spectacles, sir. Say, when was the last time you remember having them?” Clide questioned, pretending to sound concerned. “I knew I had them at breakfast, and afterwards,” Mr Howell recalled, stroking his chin. “Perhaps you left them in the Dining Hall. Why don’t you search down there, and I will continue looking in the upstairs,” Clide lied, no way he was going to stick around. “Good idea, Clide. We would fall apart without you to help us,” Mr Howell said before rushing down the stairs.

  Clide waited until he was out of sight, then made his way down the hallway to his quarters so that he could grab his things. He slept in the attic, where everything was dusty and dim, but very spacey. His master’s never went into his quarters either, so he was able to plot their demise without suspicion. When he got to the attic, the smell of smoke was overwhelming. The west half of the house must've been nearly completely engulfed by then. Clide had to hurry and get out. Luckily, he had gotten the premonition to pack the night before, so he was more than prepared to escape flee to an Inn.

  As he speedily made his way down the long, narrow hall to the grand staircase, Clide heard a man’s scream coming from a floor below him. The fire had been discovered. Clide picked up the pace, if he wanted to get out alive he would need to be quick. When he arrived at the stairs, at the bottom he could hear heavy footsteps coming closer. Mr Howell dashed through the entrance and shouted to Clide, “Fire! There's a fire in the kitchen! Get the children!” Before continuing to the den where his wife sat. Clide would have smirked, but the clumsy idiot had bumped in a large house-plant sitting near the base of the stairs, and the ceramic vase had shattered so badly Clide was afraid to step on the last three stairs. Dirt was everywhere and the plant itself was had fallen to the first step.

  Clide cussed Mr Howell out, before rushing to the other staircase. Then he heard it; the wailing of a baby. Clide tried to ignore it, and continue down the stairs with his bag, but the screaming weighed too heavily on his heart to just slip by. Clide let out a heavy sigh, “This better not be a waste of time,” he muttered to himself, before dropping his bag and running back up the stairs. He followed the crying back down the hall to the proper nursery. Daniel’s nursery was in the West Wing of the mansion, so there was a chance his room was already ablaze.

  Clide felt the doorknob to Daniel’s nursery, and sure enough it was much warmer than it usually was. Clide yanked the door open, to find that the curtains right besides Daniel’s crib were beginning to be engulfed by flames, therefore; so was the crib. “No!” Clide exclaimed, rushing over to the wailing baby. He reached in as the wood quickly began to burn, and took the baby out. “Shhh, Daniel. You are safe now, you will always be safe,” Clide whispered, running his fingers through the small amount of hair on the infant’s head. The baby could not answer, he only balled from the smoke that had gotten into it’s throat and eyes. Clide left the room with no issue, but now the hallway was filled with black smoke, making it impossible to see or breathe. He took the thin handkerchief out of his pocket and placed it gently over Daniel’s face, so that the amount of smoke he was in taking was only minimal.

  He then faced the toughest decision he would ever have to make. Would he save Adrian? There was no doubt in Clide’s mind that if he went to save the other baby, Daniel would not make or if he did survive he would be on the brink of death. Would he let the other child burn for the sake of his brother, or would he make the decision to try and save Adrian. He reached the stairs and glanced down to see that the fire was already spreading to the grand foyer to the home. If he went to save Adrian, the fire would surely be blocking the exit of the manor. With great resentment and guilt, Clide turned his back on the East Wing and began heading down the marble stairwell. He was going fast and gracefully, until he leaned down to pick up his bag.

  After that, he tripped over his own two feet and began to stumble down the stairs. He was able to stay upright until the last step, when he fell to the cold, hard floor with a thud. He gripped onto the baby in his arms tightly, not wanting it to hit it's head on the floor. Clide had tried using his bag to soften the fall, but ultimately he was still over fifty, and not able to stand up as quickly as he would like to. He gathered his strength in his now aching hands, and pushed himself to his feet, Daniel still secured in his arms. He looked towards the door, and shouted profanity when he saw the fire had blocked his way out. “Clide! Thank God you're alright! And you have Daniel!” Mr Howell exclaimed, rushing up to him with Mrs Howell trailing close behind. “But where-where is Adrian?” Mrs Howell stammered, tears streaking down her face. “I am afraid he could not be reached in time. Smoke has overcome the East and West Wings,” Clide informed them, pretending to be panicked.

    “ADRIAN! I'm going up there!” Mrs Howell declared, trying to run for the stairs. “Mrs Howell, if you go after him you will surely suffocate,” Clide tried to warn her, but being the disdainful woman she was, completely ignored him and began to run up the stairs. Clide did not stop her, the whole purpose of the fire was to kill them. “That, Master, is why I started this fire. Because you are an ungodly family that deserves to burn in life and death. No women should disobey the men in her life, it is against god. Enjoy your eternity in hell,” Clide growled, and as Mr Howell put together what his servant had said, Clide reached through the blazing fire with his open arm and pushed the double door open. Without a second to spare, Clide braced himself, and jumped straight through the flames. He turned and slammed the door behind him, locking it with the key in his pocket. He looked down at Daniel, to see that the handkerchief on his face had been set on fire. Immediately Clide tossed the handkerchief to the ground, and stomped on it. However, the cloth had already done it's damage.

       Daniel was alive, but the left side of his face was horribly burned. No doubt it would leave horrendous scars. Daniel was crying louder than Clide had ever heard him cry before, the poor babe must have been in a world of agony. “I'm sorry, my boy. But everything was necessary. This burn is proof of your freedom from sin. For the rest of your life, it shall remind you of the ungodliness you narrowly escaped from. From now on, you will be raised to think like me, and be one-hundred percent pure.” So Clide ran to the stables nearby and mounted his horse with Daniel still in his arms. He didn't even look back at the burning house, as he rode off into the forest. His destination was London, which was only a half hour away on foot. As he galloped away, in the distance behind him he could hear a woman screaming, and grinned devilishly to himself, so incredibly proud of his work. When he reached the entrance to London, he put on his worried face and ran up to one of the guards who asked, “What is wrong sir? Did you come from the smoke?” Clide nodded and cried to him, “Yes! Yes! I am the Howell Family’s personal servant, and the mansion had set on fire! I was only able to save the baby before narrowly escaping with my life!” Clide explained to him, showing him Daniel. When the guard heard the name “Howell”, he immediately became more attentive.

      “Did anyone else make it out alive?” The guard questioned, signaling for the other guard to fetch a steed. “The last I knew, no. The rest of the family was still in the house. We must hurry, we have no time to waste!” Clide exclaimed, getting back up on his black horse. “Yes of course, would you like me to take the infant into the city where it will be safe?” Clide shook his head no, “No hard feelings, but I do not want the child in the hands of a stranger at the moment.” The guard nodded, and as soon as a horse, along with three other guards and steeds arrived, they were off back into the forest. But Clide knew that it would be far too late for the Howells, not even God could save them now.


	3. Dan's Crusty Treats

  “Is that the end? Seriously? And there isn't a second book?” Dan cried out angrily, like there was a person to answer him. But as usual, the only person there to reply was himself. As the only other living soul in the manor was his pet dog, Susie, who of course could not speak, and was not in the room. “The author died two decades ago, there will never be a second book,” Dan muttered to himself like it was a separate person answering. His adoptive father, Clide Niccolo, would always scold him for talking to himself. He said that it looked weird, like he was possessed or something. But what Clide didn't know couldn't hurt him. 

  Dan tossed the lousy book aside into the ever growing pile of stories he had already read during that summer so far, and it was beginning to be as tall as him, which was very tall. Dan decided he’d had enough reading for the day, and exited the library to a long, candle lit hallway that led to the den. Susie, who was not allowed in the library after she had peed on a pile of Clide’s books, was waiting right outside the door for her owner. “Hey there girl, what should we do next?” Dan asked the dog, continuing down the hall.

  Susie didn't answer, she just stared at him with big brown eyes and a tongue sticking out of her mouth. Dan sighed and said, “Maybe a snack then.” And by snack, Dan meant he was going to bake a whole entire pie. It wasn't a difficult thing, he had been trapped in this manor for twenty six years, so baking was a common activity for Dan. So common, that Dan had memorized the recipe by heart and didn't even have to look at the cookbooks. Of course, that didn’t mean from time to time he wouldn’t flip through some of them and see if their was something new he could possibly make. Dan had reached the kitchen, and got out all of the essential ingredients for the crust and filling, like flour, sugar, and apples. 

  Susie stared at him with her begging eyes, and Dan rolled his eyes. She laid down and placed her head on her golden paws, like that would make a difference. “No, Susie. Don’t be ridiculous. You’re not getting anything this time,” Dan said, recently he had been trying to be more assertive with the dog when it came to food, but it was not going very well. Dan grabbed a white apron and wrapped in around his body, but he knew that somehow, flour would still get all over his shirt. “So first I’ve got to make the crust,” Dan mumbled to himself. As he worked, he began to hum to himself. He didn’t know very many songs, just the two that had somehow managed to survive the fire all those years ago.

  Dan rarely ever listened to those records, anything that reminded him of his real family, mostly sat collecting dust in a closet. It was too painful to think of them, even if he remembered nothing about his family. The only things he knew, was what Clide had told him, and Clide had forbidden Dan from speaking of his parents and brother in his presence. Then again, there were a lot of things Dan was forbidden from doing. Like leaving the mansion, or going into the attic, or doing anything fun. Luckily Dan always found ways to make the long days seem less boring and tedious, although eventually he would get tired of them and have to find something else to entertain himself. 

  The only things that never got boring were baking and reading. In someway, reading was like going outside. Dan learned how people interacted, new technology over the years, and how people did things. He also had another way to see other humans, but he was only allowed to use his telescope two times a year. For Christmas, and for Midsummer’s day, which was tomorrow. Dan loved the Midsummer Festival, or at least loved to watch it. There was fire and colours and dancing, and everyone just seemed so in harmony with each other.

  Every year, the thought of sneaking out and attending the Festival crossed his mind. He would debate it over and over again in his mind until Clide reminded him why he couldn't go. He was a monster, and would be reviled among normal men and women. He had not only lost his family and possessions in the fire, he had lost the left side of his face. Clide refused to tell him what happened, like he refused to talk about anything to do with the fire. All Dan knew what that he had suffered horrendous burns on his face, which had left one side of his face permanently scarred and damaged.  

Clide told him that people would be repulsed, and that Dan would be sparing his own feelings if he stayed in the house. That wasn't the only reason he couldn't go, however, his master would surely find out he went, as it was required in his job to attend the Festival and watch over it. So if Dan went, there was a good chance that Clide would recognize him and Dan would be punished severely for disobeying his rules. He would have to stick to the telescope and books only. 

Dan finished mixing the crust ingredients, and began to mold it to the side of the pan he was using. Next came the best part, the filling. He peeled the apples, and as he cut them maybe a few pieces “accidentally” fell to the ground for Susie to snatch up and eat. That's when he heard the door to the Manor open, Dan’s master must have been home already. He tended to come home early the day before the Festival. “Daniel!” Clide called the minute he was inside.

Dan of course, did not hear him, for the kitchen was very far from the grand foyer. Clide first checked the library, and when he did not find Dan there, went straight for the kitchen, Dan’s second favorite room in the mansion. Dan nearly dropped the bowl he was holding when Clide burst in, Dan had been in his own world and hadn't heard the older man’s footsteps. “Daniel! Why didn’t you answer me. I walked here all the way from the library!” Clide exclaimed, sounding furious. Dan set down his bowl and turned to face his master properly. “I-I apologize sir. I did not hear you call for me,” Dan stuttered, it was never a good thing when his master was angry. “And look at this awful mess you’ve made boy! There's flour everywhere!” Clide growled, pointing at the white powder all over the counter.

“I'm sorry, sir. I just-” Dan began, but he was interrupted. “I do not want you to apologize, Daniel. I want you to get me a glass of wine, finish baking your pie, and as soon as you're finished clean everything so spotless I can see my reflection in the marble countertop. You have to learn to be more neat, Daniel. Nobody wants a slob,”  Clide snapped. Dan simply nodded and rushed over to the wine cabinet to grab his master’s favorite brand, and a crystal glass. “You’ve also brought the dog in here? Have you been feeding the filthy animal table scraps?” Clide questioned, sneering at the dog. “No, sir,” Dan lied, knowing Susie would pay for what he had done. “Good, hurry up with my drink!” He ordered, starting to lose more of his patience. Dan poured the wine quickly and steadily, trying not to spill a single drop.

Dan rushed over and handed the cup to Clide, avoiding all eye contact. “Good, my boy. I will be in the gardens, if you need me for some reason, you can find me there,” Clide said, then stormed out of the room with a flick of his dark robes. When he was out of earshot, Dan leaned over the bowl of apples and tried to keep the lump in his throat down. Thinking to himself how different life would have been if his parents had survived the fire, or if he hadn’t been so hideously scarred. But Dan would never know.

       

                                                                       ----------

   Dan pulled the pie out of the oven and set it carefully on the counter. It smelled wonderful and the crust was golden and flakey, the way it should be. Dan had begun to feel better, but still felt anxious. He had cleaned the counter and floor around him spotless, and even lit a candle to add a nice smell to the room. Dan placed the apple pie on top of a cabinet where the dog could not reach it and left, the pie would be for dessert that evening. It was already four in the afternoon, so Dan would have to begin preparing to cook supper soon. First, he had to go ask Clide what he wanted, because Dan never had a say in what they ate for dinner. 

  He went to the East Wing, where the exit to the gardens was. The gardens were actually the courtyard of the home, but after the fire Clide had decided to transform it into a beautiful, luscious garden that Dan loved to spend time in during the spring. It was the closest Dan got to actually leaving the manor. “Daniel, is that you?” Clide asked when he heard Dan enter the garden. “Yes, sir.”

 “Come here boy, we have to talk about earlier,” Clide said, but he sounded a lot more docile and calm than before. Dan found him staring at a mix of red, white, and black roses. Clide was a very tall, slender man. Every aspect of him was thin and long, his fingers, his neck, his nose, and the hair on his head was thinning and grey. His uncanny poised features made him a little creepy, even if he was harmless.  When Dan was only a foot or two behind him, Clide turned and smiled lovingly down at him. “I should apologize, I was in a bad mood earlier and I should not have taken my anger out on you. It is just so stressful for the church before Midsummer’s Day, so many people repenting before they indulge themselves in sin,” Clide sighed, placing a pale, cold hand on Dan’s shoulder.

 “You know, my boy, that is why I am so harsh with you. After the fire, I knew that you could not be raised in a sinful household like every child in London. So I studied the bible and the church for twenty three years, and finally after all those years, I had become a priest at one of the most important churches in all of England. That way, I could teach you to be a godlike man, like me. You see now, that I stress about these things because I care,” Clide explained to him. But Dan had heard this spiel many times before, and it was starting to lose it's effect. Of course, Dan was still grateful to the man for raising him when no one else would.

 “Is that why I cannot go outside? So I am not exposed to the sin?” Dan asked. Clide chuckled and shook his head. “That is just half of it my boy. You know very well you would be harassed and beaten in the real world, your burns make you too ugly for normal men to stand, only I look upon you without fear Daniel,” Clide told him, stroking the burnt skin on his cheek. Dan didn’t know how to reply, he just hung his head and stared at his feet. “Why don't you go and begin preparations for supper? I think I would like steak and potatoes, I know you enjoy that meal,” Clide said with a smile, then gently pushed Dan towards the entrance to the home. Dan continued walking, stopping briefly to gaze at his reflection in the fountain.

 Dan shuddered, he was hideous. The entire left side of his face looked so uneven it could be a mountain range. It was an ugly pinkish-red, and the corner of his lip always pointed down. His master was right, nobody with normal eyes would be able to look at him without fear. Going outside would be a terrible idea.

He sighed heavily and made his way back to the kitchen to prepare dinner. Cooking was one of the only things he was good for anyways.

  
  



	4. Danny Boy Heads Out

 Dan woke up to the blare of a horn in the distance. His eyes flickered open, and when the realization of what day it was dawned upon him, he nearly leaped out of bed he was so excited. He glanced at the clock, it was ten in the morning, only four hours until the Festival officially began. Of course, Dan would be on the balcony all day, seeing as it was one of the only times he was allowed to lay his eyes on London. It was so late in the morning, that his master must have left for the city already. Meaning Dan had the mansion all to himself again to watch the Festival. 

   Dan didn’t even get dressed, but he knew the rules on this morning. Clide said that before he went onto the balcony, he must eat breakfast and let the dog do its business in the garden. Then, Dan could look through his telescope. So Dan rushed to the kitchen and thought of the quickest breakfast he could possibly make. He eventually decided plain scrambled eggs would be nice, so he stepped into the Cold Room and grabbed two eggs.

   He turned the heat on the stove high, and cracked the eggs into the pan above it. In high heat, the eggs cooked in just over a minute and Dan carefully laid them down on his plate and sat at the small table in the kitchen. Like usual, Susie sat at his feet with her head on her paws, looking up at him with her gooey eyes. Although it didn't work this time because Dan was in such a hurry to get out onto the balcony. Hell, Dan nearly choked to death as he wolfed down his breakfast.

    “Dear *cough* God *cough*!” Dan said to himself, pounding his chest and going for a sip of water. But once he had finished nearly choking to death, Dan finished his eggs quickly and bolted up out of his chair. He remembered he had to wash his dishes, and so he hastily went over to the sink and did the lousiest dish-washing job ever. Dan however, did not care a bit. Today was his day, and his master would have to deal with it. When his dish was nice and dry, Dan left the kitchen and beckoned for Susie to follow him.

     Dan made his way to the other side of the house, and opened up the gardens for Susie. It was the one outdoors place Dan had access to, so he had created a special place in the corner for Susie to be able to do her business. Susie ran off into the garden, and Dan patiently waited, looking at all of the pretty flowers at the entrance. He enjoyed all sorts of flowers except for one, the Sunflower. He didn't know why they bothered him, something about them just made his skin crawl. Sometimes, if Clide was upset with Dan he would replace all the flowers in the house with sunflowers for a month just to unnerve him.

   Soon enough, Susie finished doing what she needed to do and as soon as she trotted in Dan slammed the door shut and began to run all the way to the top floor, where the large glass doors to the balcony sat, closed and collecting dirt and dust. On the balcony sat a large, expensive telescope that Clide had gotten Dan for his fifth birthday. With hope and happiness in his heart, Dan strolled up to the glass doors,  already able to see the top of Big Ben from where he stood.

   He reached out for the brass doorknob, twisted it, and pulled. Dan’s entire heart sank when he found that it was still locked. “What? Why is it locked?” Dan wondered aloud, yanking on the door once again. Every single year Clide had unlocked these doors for him, even if Dan hadn't been awake yet. Why were they locked? They should have been open. Dan began to panic, and tug and pull on the door with all his might over and over again. Nothing budged.

   After what seemed like hours of trying to get the door open, Dan gave up and slid down against the doors to the ground. Laying the back of his head against the glass, and beginning to feel salty tears roll down his cheeks, Dan cursed things at his master in his head, things that he would never dare let slip off his tongue to anybody, not even to Susie. What had he been thinking when he decided not to unlock the doors? Had he simply forgotten about It? Had Dan done something wrong?

   His master knew very well that the Festival was one of Dan’s favorite days of the year, and had never done this before. He looked forward to this all year, without it Dan felt there was little to no point in life. Susie must have somehow sensed her owner was heartbroken at the moment, and trotted over to stand on his thigh and lick his face. “Susie, thank you for being my friend,” he whispered to the dog, stroking behind her ear. Like normal, Susie didn't reply, she just laid at his side and laid her head on Dan’s lap.

   It was ridiculous, that Dan’s happiness relied fully on a single Festival. But it was Dan’s only way of knowing and seeing other people happy and dancing, and what normal humans were like. It was his only reminder that he wasn't alone in the world.

  Then, he had a thought. It was a mad, dangerous thought, but Dan felt as if he had no other choice. “Susie, maybe I should go to the Festival,” Dan suggested to his dog. He knew he had to witness the Festival, and if he couldn't do it from his balcony, he would have to do it from ground floor. “No I couldn't possibly go, imagine if my master found out!” Dan muttered. “But you've wanted to your whole life. You're twenty six, it's about time you went!” Dan replied to himself, he always spoke to himself when he was nervous or had to make a big decision.

   “I couldn't betray him like that! Besides how would I even hide my face? People will be repulsed by me,” Dan tried to convince himself, he knew it was a bad idea to even consider going. But he just had this burning desire to leave these walls for the first time in his life. “You can wear a hood, use makeup, no one will see your scars,” Dan argued back, running his hands through his curly hair in stress. “I-I don't know if I can do it…” Dan stuttered, getting to his feet and pacing back and forth. “I don't even have makeup, neither does Clide,” he added on.

  “But you've wanted to go your whole life. This is the perfect opportunity, it's now or never,” Dan said, and in that moment he realized, a day in the real world would be worth the harsh punishment he might receive if his master discovered he had gone. He wanted to have a taste of freedom, no matter how small.

  “You know what, I'll go. What could Clide possibly do? Kill me?” Dan decided, and with a sudden burst of confidence strode to his room looking for clothes. In the end, he selected a pair of light brown dungarees over a light, long sleeved shirt. He was going to wear his black hooded cloak, but he would grab that before leaving. Once he was dressed he had to find a suitable way to disguise his face, so that no one could see his burn scars. He thought of paint, but that would be difficult to get off, and Clide would surely see it.

  Then he thought of something, he didn't know if it would work or not, but it was better than nothing. He knew exactly where he could find this item as well, so he rushed down the stairs to the Den, where the biggest fireplace in the home was. He had read about it in books, where if women didn't have the proper eye makeup they would use small amounts of ground up charcoal and dab it around their eyes. Dan wasn't completely certain how safe it was, but it was his best bet. He grabbed a few pieces of the coal out of a wicker basket, and ran to the kitchen to grind it in a granite mortar and pestle Dan normally used to grind herbs.

  Dan placed the charcoal in the little ceramic bowl and began to grind the charcoal with as much strength and speed he could muster. It took around ten minutes for him to grind it all up into a fine powder, but when it was ready it was perfect. After that, he took the bowl with him to the bathroom. He hated looking into the mirror, when he saw his face in the mirror he always shuddered. He couldn't help but feel his confidence start to deteriorate, there was no way any amount of makeup or coal could hide his disgusting excuse for a face. The crowds would part like the red sea when they saw him, afraid to even be next to him.

   All these thoughts began to fill Dan’s head and he backed away from the mirror slowly, there was no way he could do this. “What am I thinking?” Dan muttered, covering the left side of his face with his hand, leaving his normal skin visible. “At least half of me is normal,” Dan sighed. Then again, in the distance he heard another horn coming from the Festival. He then thought to himself, that the next time he would be able to leave was when Clide passed away, and even though the priest was old, he was nowhere near close to dying. “I have to. I have to. You can do it Dan, just for one day,” Dan convinced himself, and went back up to the mirror.

  He dipped his fingers in the charcoal powder and started by smearing it onto his left eyelid, then did the same with his right eye. He continued to apply the makeup until every inch of skin around his eyes was covered in coal. Still, a good portion of scar was visible, so what he did to fix that was take both of his hands, get a good amount of charcoal on them, and smear it down each side of his face so that the burns were barely visible. It had worked, Dan looked in the mirror and if he hadn't experienced the burns himself, it was just dark and smooth enough that he wouldn't have known he was deformed. It was perfect, and time to leave.

  He went back down the hallway to his room, where he grabbed his hooded cloak and wrapped it around himself. As he did this, he was so nervous he felt as if he had swallowed a rock. But he didn’t let himself think too much about it as he gave Susie a pat goodbye, and stood in front of the huge, double doors, bracing himself to open them. “Here goes nothing,” he sighed, then in one motion pulled the doors open with ease.

  One thing Dan had not been expecting, was how bright the sun was when it hit his eyes. He had been so accustomed to the dark halls and indoors that the sudden full blast of sunlight was incredibly harsh against his eyes. He shielded his eyes with his hood until he was able to adjust to the brightness and walk forwards without squinting. The warm breeze hit his cheeks and he took a deep breath of the fresh, crisp air. Dan slowly made his way down the stone pathway, past the stables and to the main gate. He had learned to ride a horse, so he would have to walk the distance, but Dan knew it wasn't far.

  The manor was in the middle of a forest, so all around him was nothing but tall trees and the occasional squirrel. In the first minute or two, every step was cautious. Dan didn’t know what to expect, other than the trees, birds, and the sky. As he left his house behind, he only looked back once. It was so large, he wondered what his parents had done to get so rich before Clide inherited the house and wealth. But he ignored those questions, and now that he was out, Dan didn’t have a single doubt in his mind. He wouldn't go back until that evening. This was his path, and he was sticking to it.


	5. There's a Lest-ival (Ha, get it? I'll stop now)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if I got anything about the Midsummer Festival wrong, I don't know a lot about it and everything is most likely inaccurate, like a lot of the historical stuff in this story.

    As Dan got closer and closer, the sound of music and other white noise got louder. Over the past thirty minutes, Dan had progressively gotten more nervous. He had only been taught to fear the worst, not hope for the best. He could see the entrance to the city in the distance, and adjusted his hood so that he looked presentable. He looked around and saw other people heading towards the entrance just like him, they were all in groups though, their looks were bright and colorful rather than dark and shadowy. 

    Women wore long, flowing, floral dresses and the men wore brown blazers and dress pants. It was so fascinating, seeing other people up close for the first time. They were laughing and smiling, and not a single soul paid any attention to Dan. He felt an urge to cry out of pure joy, but resisted the desire in fear of washing away the charcoal with tears.

  He was mere meters away from the first cobblestone road. The smells, sights and sounds were simply overwhelming, and as he stepped into the city’s streets, he could only stop dead in his tracks and take in everything around him. He was in the slums of the city, and it was easy to tell. Dirty men, women, and children passed by and every so often a rat would scurry by, but it was so human Dan couldn't help but feel cheerful.

  He continued up the street searching for one thing. You see, all the years he had watched the Festival they all had one thing in common, before the fire was lit they would have a first dance. There would be a blocked off circle, and a man and woman would be selected to start the dance. Then gradually, more and more people would join until the whole circle was filled with people. Dan wanted to be apart of that, not necessarily the first dancer, but he wanted to be in the circle.

   As Dan wandered farther up the street he noticed carts selling items like flower crowns and bead necklaces. Dan cheered internally when he also spotted a vendor selling maps of the city. Dan made his way over and bought one with the money he took from the house before leaving. Then, made his way to the center of the town where the first dance would take place.

                          --------

  At the south entrance to London, there was another man who had not attended the Midsummer’s Festival in over a decade. As the man entered the city on horseback, men and women on foot looked up at him in awe. Everybody recognized him, he was one of the most well known generals in all of England. “Could that be?” “Is it really him?” “General Philip Lester?” He heard people whisper to each other, causing him to smile widely, it always made him happy knowing everybody knew his name.

   Then, before Phil knew it, the maidens on the ground began walking next to him and his black and white horse, Holly. “Good afternoon ladies. Are you excited for the Festival?” Phil asked politely, even though he wished to get to his location, Saint Mary’s Holy Catholic Church. When Phil had gotten the assignment, he thought it was a joke. What could a church possibly want with a General? But his boss had insisted that he needed to go, that the priest, Clide Niccolo, had sounded very urgent.

    “Very much, sire. Say do you plan on going to the First Dance?” One of the women answered, batting her eyelashes. “I have business to attend to, but if I have the time I might watch,” He said honestly. He had never been one for dancing, on the battlefield he may be confident and coordinated, but in every other aspect of life he was somewhat of a clutz. “Well I hope we see you there, perhaps dancing with some lucky lady,” She replied with a wink, before going off with her friends in a fit of giggles. Phil resisted an eye roll, and continued on with his life.

   He hadn't been to the Festival in years. Not since he had turned sixteen, and gone off to fight for the British Army. He'd had his fair share of gruesome sights and experiences, so he was pleased to just relax for a little bit and enjoy London.

   He took in a deep whiff of air, and smelled a collaboration of all sorts of aromas floating through the air. He smelt all sorts of food carts on the streets, blacksmiths making jewelry for the women, and so many flower stands it almost smelled like a garden. Phil was tempted to go to a pastry stand, but he forced himself to stay on focus. He had to meet with Father Niccolo soon, then after that he could enjoy himself.

   The church would not be hard to spot, for it had a single spire that was so tall, it challenged those of Notre Dame herself. It was towards the center of the city, with a huge, bustling square at it's entrance. Even though there was hardly walking space in the square, when the civilians saw and recognized Phil, they parted like the Red Sea. Some men bowed, some women curtseyed, but most stared in confusion. Why would such a renowned general be doing at a random church in London? Phil hoped that question would be soon answered. When he reached the base of the stone steps, he dismounted his horse and climbed the stairs with his dark blue cape flowing in the wind behind him.

  He went to open the large, wooden, double doors but they began to creak open before he could even touch the door handle. It opened all the way, and on the other side, stood a tall, elderly man in black robes with an unsettling grin plastered on his face. “Hello, you must be Philip Lester. I am Father Clide Niccolo, please come in,” he greeted, stepping aside so Phil could step in.

   Phil entered, gazing at the beautiful stone architecture in awe. It was by far, the most beautiful building Phil had ever stepped foot in. There were at least two dozen rows of shiny, wooden pews, with arches lined neatly next to them. Phil began to walk past a large, marble basin most likely filled with water for baptisms. He saw doors on either side of the room, and asked Clide. “Where do those doors lead to?”

  “Nothing interesting, just the nuns’ living and sleeping quarters, it’s where you will be staying while you are working for me. The real beauty is in front of you,” Father Niccolo said, gesturing to the front of the church. He wasn't lying, in front of Phil there was a life size bronze statue of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. To the left of it, there was a podium where the priests would preach, and to the right of the statue there was a display case with an old bible inside. The display was amazing, of course, but the true masterpiece was the stain glass dome roof above it. Around the dome, the glass depicted each and every moment of Jesus’s life was in chronological order, with the glass picture of baby Jesus at the very top of the dome. It was the most exquisite piece of art Phil had ever laid his naked eyes on.

   All he could say was, “Wow,” he was in such awe. “I know, it's truly something. But I have not brought you here to gawk at the architecture. The city of London it in grave peril, and we need to fix it,” Father Niccolo declared, turning Phil around to face him. “What do you mean? London is completely safe from enemies,” Phil questioned. “That is not what I speak of, General Lester. I am talking about sin. London is rampant with so much sin, I have never seen anything so unholy in twenty six years,” Clide explained with a scowl. Phil raised his eyebrows, was this guy being serious?

  “Please, indulge me,” Phil said. “Of course, you do not know what I speak of. You have not been to London in years, so you do not know of the sin corrupting our streets; Of all the prostitutes, gypsies, thieves, and murderers plaguing our city…” Then Father Niccolo leaned in close to Phil and whispered, “I have even heard that homosexuality is becoming a more accepted practice.” Phil’s expression must have shown his shock, because Clide chuckled and said, “Do not be worried, we will be rid of these unspeakable acts in no time. I have gotten permission to go on a sort of… Witch Hunt, if you will. I have convinced and warned the queen and parliament of the incredible danger all of this filthiness puts their city in. They want the streets to be wiped clean of all sin, and General Lester,  _ you _ are going to help me.”

  Phil nodded and faked a smile, beginning to feel nervous, like Clide could see right through him. But how was the priest going to know that Phil was a part of one of the groups he just listed? He also had many questions, like how they would even find the people they looked for, or how harsh the punishments would be. “When you say ‘wiped clean,’ what exactly do you mean?” Phil questioned, dreading the answer.

  Another creepy grin spread widely on Father Niccolo’s face, “They will perish to hell where they belong.” Phil felt unnerved, this man was getting worse and worse by the minute. Had he seriously been summoned all the way to London to help kill the people he had been fighting to protect? “Oh, and before we head to the First Dance, I must warn you. If you try to betray me, or do not follow my orders exactly as I tell you to, it will be the last thing you ever do.” With that, Clide walked back down the aisle and outside, leaving Phil alone in the cathedral. Had the old priest really just threatened him? He felt a sudden surge of fear, this man may be more dangerous than he let on. But Phil could not do anything about it, it was his job and it was too late to reject the assignment.

  After he regained his poise, Phil began to follow Father Niccolo out into the square, where they walked out into the sun, and the sound of the horn announcing the First Dance blared through the air. So they made their way to the square where music was playing loudly through the square. On a makeshift stage a few feet away from the open circle, a tall man wearing tight, colorful clothing stood, observing the crowd from above. “I have never really had a taste for these kinds of Festivals, there's too much noise,” Clide commented.

  “I personally enjoy it. Everybody looks so happy,” Phil replied. “Yes but they are happy because they are giving into their satanic desires. Nothing to be joyful about, General Lester,” Father Niccolo said. Phil internally rolled his eyes, he could tell he was going to get tired of this guy very quickly. There was a brief moment of silence before Clide asked, “Do you have a woman at home? Or perhaps, even a child?” Phil snorted, he would never be with a woman. “No sir, I do not have a wife or children,” Phil told him, watching the crowd get more rowdy as the First Dance got closer.

  “What a shame. I'm sure you would make any woman happy,” Father Niccolo stated. “Do you have any family?” Phil asked curiously. “Sort of. I have an adopted son, named Daniel. But he could not go to the Festival this year, he has work to do at home,” Clide paused for a moment before saying, “We should get closer to the front.” He then began to push his way farther into the crowd. Phil followed behind, and people actually parted for him, making his path to the front of the crowd easy.  

  A few seconds after they reached the edge of the crowd, one more horn blew loudly, and the noise died down to complete silence as they focused on the gypsy upon the stage. “Welcome! Welcome everybody, to the First Dance! Where we sing and move until our feet can't take it anymore! Before we get started, I must pick the first two. Here we go! Eenie, meanie, miney, mo, I pick you,” The man said, pointing across the circle at a woman, then turned to a cloaked man on the inner circle, “And you.”


	6. The First Dan-ce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey fellas. In this chapter there's going to be a bit of groovy moving, and I'd just like to say yes, in real life I know Dan is probably one of the most awkward dancers ever, but let's pretend that he isn't clumsy and lanky, and is a graceful ballerina for this one.

Dan froze in pure horror at the gloved finger pointing directly at him. All of the people around him cheered loudly, and without reading into his fear, forcefully pushed him out into the empty circle. There were hundreds of people here, and the Gypsy had chosen him out of all of them? Of course it was Dan’s luck. The man on the stage shouted at him, “Take down your hood! Let's see your face!” The crowd started chanting, “Take it off! Take it off!” Dan felt the pressure get to him, besides, he had makeup to conceal his face. He was wary to take it down for many reasons, but did it as he had also not spotted his master only a few meters away.

Without a second thought, Dan lowered the hood from his head, revealing everything from his curly hair to his neck. The crowd erupted in cheers, and Dan couldn't help but wonder why they were so excited about his seeing his face, it was nothing special with the charcoal on it. Dan then turned his attention to the girl across the circle from him. She was a blonde, curvaceous woman with bright blue eyes and a kind face. She walked over to him to introduce herself, “Hello, my name is Louise.”

“I'm Daniel, but you can call me Dan.”

Louise smiled brightly and held out her hand for a shake, “Nice to meet you Dan! Are you ready?” Dan gulped, to be honest, he wasn't a terrible dancer. He had gone through a phase when he was twelve where every day he would go into his home’s mini ballroom and practice dancing. He did that until Clide caught him one day and scolded him for it, saying his scars were too ugly for him to be a performer. Somehow, after that he was able to convince himself he was too tall and lanky to be a good dancer, and that he was terrible and awkward at it. He never danced again, until now.

“No, to be honest, I don't really know how to dance,” Dan laughed nervously, afraid she would judge him. “That's alright, I'm not very good either. Just follow whatever I do and hopefully we’ll be bearable to watch,” Louise said with a smile. Dan felt that he could put his trust in her, so he did. When the music began, Dan focused directly on Louise. When she jumped, he jumped. When she twirled, he twirled. Dan felt super weird and off tempo, but when they locked elbows and spun together Louise whispered, “I thought you said you were bad! Dan you're wonderful!” Before they switched sides of the circle. With those words in mind, Dan felt a sudden burst of confidence. As people began to pour into the circle with their dance partners, Dan and Louise stayed central, and all observers had their eyes on them.

Without warning, Dan began to flow even better with the music, and attempt moves he hadn't done since he was an adolescent. Louise was caught off guard by this, but grinned widely at him in encouragement. Then after a quick spin, all of a sudden he was not facing Louise anymore, but another girl had pushed her aside and cut in. Dan looked around, but Louise had already disappeared to dance with another man. Dan just shrugged and went along with it, this was how these dances went anyways. Him and this girl were somewhat equal in skill, and they got lost in each other's movements.

Dan was also unaware of two, intensely focused sets of eyes watching his every movement from outside the circle.

Phil stood in the crowd staring at Dan in awe, he had never seen another man dance so enthusiastically or so well, and instantly felt drawn to him. No one else in the dancing crowd stood out, but him. “Who is he?” Phil gasped simultaneously with Father Niccolo. Phil looked over to see that the priest seemed equally enchanted by the boy’s movements. Phil then realized that he was probably not the only man or woman in the area watching the boy like a hawk. He knew he had to get to the other young man before someone else did, so without telling Father Niccolo he stepped into the dance floor, making a beeline for the other man.

Phil didn't even care that he was walking into people and interrupting the other people who were dancing, they were mere background distractions compared to the boy in the center of the circle. Phil ignored the squealing maidens approaching him hoping for a dance and gently shoved them aside, they didn’t matter anymore. It was just  _him_.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of swimming through the sea of moving bodies, Phil was close enough to him that he could just reach out and tap the boy’s shoulder. Phil approached him from behind, and when he was just a foot away from him, the boy did a spin. But when the boy saw Phil just standing there, staring at him, he faltered in his graceful movements.

Dan stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the raven haired man peering up at him with his stunning, ocean blue eyes that could make anyone feel electrified. Dan scanned his whole entire body, he wore a dark blue army uniform and had a cape that ended at his knees. His skin was smooth and pale, and he was looking at Dan like he was the only pleasing thing he’d ever seen. “H-hello,” Dan stuttered, his breathing had suddenly become shorter and he felt his heart beating at an impossible rate. He hadn’t even heard the man’s voice, yet Dan was already under this man’s spell. “Hi,” the man greeted softly in a low and husky, yet sensual voice. “I’m sorry if I startled you, it’s just that I noticed you from the edge of the circle, and I knew I couldn’t pass up the chance to speak to you,” The man explained with a northern accent. “You’re from the north,” Dan blurted, unsure what else to say.

Phil smirked and said, “Yes I am. Manchester, to be precise. Where exactly are you from?” Dan, for some reason had to scramble through his brain to put together the words. “J-Just north of London. In the forest,” Dan said, he had completely forgotten he was in the middle of a dance.  They stood in silence, just looking at each other and examining every inch of each other’s face. “Do you have a name?” The blue eyed man asked. Dan nodded, “Daniel Howell. But I go by Dan.” The man mouthed his name, before saying, “Daniel is a beautiful name. Mine is just Phil.”

“Philip is a strong name,” Dan said. “I guess it could be worse, I could be named Moe,” Phil joked, causing Dan to slightly chuckle. “Phil, we’re standing in the middle of everything, maybe we should move,” Dan suggested, having been bumped into at least ten times. “Nobody seems too upset about it. Besides staying here is better than pushing through everybody,” Phil said. “You’re not wrong. Since we’re going to stay here we might as well dance, right?”

"Oh no, I can’t dance. I promise it’s for the better, I would step on your toes like a million times,” Phil laughed, shaking his head. “OK then, let’s talk about all the stares you’re getting, are you famous or something?” Dan said, noticing all of the girls glancing over this way. “I don’t know if they’re  _all_ for me. You do catch a person’s eye, Daniel,” Phil said, causing Dan to blush deeply. “You do too, with your whole army general get up,” Dan replied, poking at one of Phil’s badges. Phil raised an eyebrow, “Hold on. Dan, do you know who I am?”

Dan began to feel confused, had he done something wrong? Was he supposed to know this guy? “Uh, no. Is that bad or-” Phil cut him off before he could start rambling. “No, not at all. It’s just that most people recognize me. I’m a famous general for the British Army,” Phil explained. Great, Phil was a handsome war hero with a huge reputation, Dan was now nervous beyond belief. “I’m just not caught up on current news. I don’t go out often,” Dan explained. “I don’t get to leave the battlefield very often either. I’m just here because I was summoned for a special assignment,” Phil explained. “What’s it for?” Dan questioned, he wanted to know everything about Phil. “I don’t know if I’m supposed to say anything, but I don't know how well I trust the man who’s in charge of this assignment,” Phil whispered, making sure no one around them could hear him. “Who?” Dan asked. Phil hesitated for a moment, but he looked into Dan’s warm, chocolate brown eyes and knew he could trust him. “A priest named Clide Niccolo,” Phil said.

Dan’s smile melted away, Phil was working for his master? This was not good. Phil grabbed Dan’s hand in concern, “Is everything alright? You look worried,” Phil asked. “Yes, I’m fine. It’s nothing,” Dan lied, he couldn’t let Phil know who he was and how he knew Clide, it could change everything. In the background, the music slowed to a stop and the gypsy shouted. “Now let the Festival begin!” People all around them cheered, and then began to disperse to partake in different activities. “Dan Howell, would you like to spend the afternoon with me?” Phil proposed. Dan’s worries about his relations to Clide disappeared and replied, “It would be my pleasure.”

  
  


Hours had passed since the First Dance, and it was getting dark enough that the fires were being prepared. Dan and Phil clicked in a way that left them both baffled, they'd only known each other for one night, yet Dan could tell that their chemistry was undeniable. That perhaps, they were even soulmates.

“Phil! We’ve already stopped at five different food stands in the past hour we are not stopping at another one!” Dan whined as the general tried to drag him to a cart selling beef jerky. The only problem Dan really had, was that people literally stopped them like every five minutes to talk to Phil. “But it looks so good!” Phil responded, dragging Dan towards the vendor. “You don’t need it though!” Dan laughed, resisting Phil’s pull. “I’ll stop buying food when you take off your makeup,” Phil retorted, causing Dan to roll his eyes heavily. The whole entire time, Phil has been trying to get Dan to wipe off the coal on his face. Dan always refused, because he knew that if Phil saw what he really looked like, he would reject and shun him.

“That’s different…” Dan muttered, ultimately giving in to Phil and heading over to the jerky cart. But before they could reach it, Dan heard an all too familiar from behind them, “General Lester! I had been wondering where you’d run off to.” They turned to see Dan’s master looking at them with a slight scowl. “Oh, sorry sir I know I should have told you of my whereabouts. It’s just that I was so distracted and-” Phil rambled, afraid of whatever discipline he might receive. But Clide was not paying attention to Phil, his stone cold eyes were locked onto Dan. His eyes ran up and down Dan’s body multiple time, and he met Dan’s eyes with a subconscious lip lick.

“You must be the boy from the First Dance. I am Father Clide Niccolo from Saint Mary’s Holy Catholic Church, and you are…” Clide said, and Dan realized he must have not recognized him with the makeup. But Dan knew the second a word came out of his mouth, Clide would know exactly who he was speaking to. Dan had such a distinct posh voice his voice could probably be heard in a large crowd. He became panicked, if he didn’t say anything surely Phil would. In desperation, he gave Phil a look that said “Don’t tell him.” He was not expecting Phil to get it, but Phil responded with a small nod and said the first thing that came to mind, “His name is Alexander,” Phil lied. Clide smirked oddly, “I like that name. So sensual. Tell me Alexander, how did you learn to dance like that?” Dan shuddered, he said it in such a way that Dan gave goosebumps, and not the good kind.

He shrugged, avoiding too much eye contact. Clide chuckled and without any warning reached out with his index finger to tilt Dan’s chin up, forcing him to look at his old, wrinkly face. “You’re a quiet one, aren't you boy,” Clide whispered with an off putting laugh. Phil, who had been watching the whole time, decided this was going to far and pulled Dan away from the priest. “Come on, Da-Alexander, I heard there was going to be an apple bobbing contest soon,” Phil said, wrapping his arm around Dan’s shoulder and guiding him away.

However, that was not enough to get rid of Clide, because he trailed behind them, and began to speak again. “Alexander you look extremely similar to my adopted son. It's somewhat unsettling,” Clide told him, causing Dan to tense up under Phil's arm.

Phil could easily sense how uncomfortable Dan was, and squeezed his shoulder reassuringly the whole way to the apple bobbing contest. When they got there, the crowd was already massive. They stood at the back, and Dan was glad, because he assumed that would mean he wouldn't be selected to participate in the competition. But he was wrong. The minute Dan, Phil, and Clide neared the crowd people recognized him as the “guy from the first dance.”

People all around began to shout, “Bring him up! Bring him up!” Dan refused, if he went up there and stuck his head in the water, the coal would be washed away. He shook his head and looked to Phil for help, but he was equally as curious to what was under the charcoal. “Go on Dan. What's the worst that could happen?” Phil said, giving him a gentle shove towards the erratic crowd. They grabbed onto him and began to push him to the front of the crowd, where the man on stage took his hand and pulled him up on the stage.


	7. Dan Puts His Wide Mouth to Use ;)

 

  Dan was now on the verge of a panic attack, not only would Clide find out it was really him, but Phil and the whole crowd would see his true face. The man running the contest beckoned for the crowd to hush up, so he could talk to Dan. “Ladies and gentlemen, boy do we have a treat for you! We are about to reveal what this young man looks like, under the make up! What is your name?”

     Dan didn’t know what to do, he couldn't ignore the guy, but he couldn't say his name either. So he did the only thing he could think of, and in the lowest voice he could possibly muster, announced, “My name is Alexander.” His eyes wandered to Clide, whose expression had turned from a cocky grin to a puzzled frown at the sound of Dan’s voice; there was no doubt in Dan’s head that Clide could recognize it. “Alright then, Alexander, take your place behind this barrel, and prepare yourself to hold your breath. We've had people drown before,” the man informed him, pointing over to a barrel on the far end.

    Dan was even more anxious, now he had to worry about drowning. As soon as he was situated, the man began to explain the rules to the audience and contestants. As he spoke, Dan became more and more worried by the second, doubts ran through his mind a mile a minute, and the only thing that offered him comfort was Phil’s kind eyes watching him from the back of the audience.

    Far too soon, the man was ready for the contest to begin. He counted down from three, “Three! Two! One! Duunnkk!” The man yelled along with the audience. Dan hesitated, as all three other contestants dived right it. He sincerely thought about just leaving the stage, he didn’t have to do this. Then he decided that it was more suspicious not to do the contest, then it would prove he had something to hide. So he cleared his head of any whim of a doubt, and dunked his head into the apple filled water. Just two hours ago, he had been showing Phil that he could almost fit his whole fist in his mouth, so he knew that he would be good at biting the apples.

   Like a machine, he would grab an apple with his mouth, and spit it out into his bucket. He did it over and over and over again, until his mouth and back started to ache. He noticed that during the process, the water was beginning to turn a greyish black from the charcoal on his face, and he knew that when the contest was over, he was done for. Finally, the moment he had been dreading arrived, and the sound of a sharp whistle blew through the air. Dan forced himself to remove his face from the barrel and wipe all the water off with his sleeve.

      Without thinking about it, Dan lifted his head to face the crowd, and everybody gasped in horror when they looked at his true face. “Look at him!” A woman in the front screamed, causing all of the other girls in the crowd to look towards him and shriek. Men gasped as his appearance, and began to whisper among themselves. It was everything Dan had feared, people were terrified of him and backing away from the stage. He felt a lump form in his throat, what had he been thinking? That people would just disregard what he looked like?

     He drearily shifted his gaze to where Phil and Clide were standing. Phil had a look of disbelief and guilt plastered across his face, while Clide’s expression was nothing but pure outrage. At that moment, it was as if Dan’s whole entire life was caving in on him, but the contest runner was quick to save the day. “People, people! Do not panic, this man won the contest, I have counted! We should not be fearing him, we should be celebrating his oddities! That is what these peasant Festivals are for, right? Give him the crown!” Dan had not been expecting to be treated with such kindness by this utter stranger, but without flinching his helpers brought over a colorful flower crown and placed it on Dan’s head gently.

    The whole entire crowd was silent, nobody was sure whether to cheer or not. That was until, from the very back of the audience, Phil shouted, “Go Dan!” and began to clap and cheer loudly. Soon after people heard one of the most respected people in England applaud Dan, they copied. People started to whoop and pump fists in the air, until everybody in the crowd was happily cheering, except for Clide, who looked like he could murder someone. Dan ignored him though, this had to be the happiest moment of his life, and his master would not ruin it for him.

      But it was just Dan’s luck, that all of this joy would only last for a split second, because somebody in the crowd randomly decided to throw a tomato at the stage, nearly hitting Dan. At first Dan thought it was going to be an isolated incident and people would be appalled at such behavior, but once again he was wrong. The crowd found this highly amusing, and began to toss whatever they could find on their body directly at Dan. Dan shielded himself with his cloak, and backed away from the front of the stage so it would be harder to hit him. That didn’t stop them, they still continued to pelt Dan with food, clothing, and even some miniature pottery. Dan fought and fought the urge to cry, but eventually it overcame him and hot tears began rolling down his face. How could humans be so cruel? Did they even think of him as another person?

     Dan was waiting behind his cloak for the next round, but after waiting for at least a minute, he figured out that nothing was coming towards him. Very slowly and cautiously, he lowered his cloak to look at the crowd. Only to see their silent, dumbfounded expressions. Dan glanced around to see if he could find what they were all staring at, to see none other than Phil on the stage walking towards him. Nobody was going to shout and jeer at a general, nonetheless throw food at him.

     Phil approached Dan with an outstretched arm, offering his hand. Dan was slow to take it, but he knew that he could trust Phil, so he took his hand and was pulled to his feet. “I’m so sorry Dan. If I had known what would happen, I would've never made you go up there,” Phil whispered with an extremely concerned look in his eyes. “It’s OK. I just want to go home now,” Dan sniffled, wiping his cheeks with his sleeve. “That's understandable. Let's go,” Phil said, wrapping his arm around Dan once more, and guiding him off the stage.

    When they jumped down into the audience, they all backed away to make a wide path for them. Dan knew that it wasn't out of respect for Phil, but out of fear of being close to Dan. “Just ignore them,” Phil muttered into Dan’s ear, picking up the pace. They kept walking until they reached the very back, until they reached Clide. As soon as Dan saw his master's furious expression, he began to shake in fear. “Daniel James Howell. Never in my whole entire life, have I been so angry or disappointed,” Clide growled.

  Dan looked to Phil, who was looking very confused at the moment. Clide turned to Phil and asked, “Did he not tell you?” Phil shook his head, “Tell me what, sir?” Clide snickered and answered, “Daniel is my adopted son. He’s supposed to be at home.” Phil’s jaw dropped, now he understood why Dan had been acting so weird around Clide. “Daniel James Howell, you are going to have a worse punishment than you can even comprehend,” Clide paused and then turned to Phil, “Let us go fetch our horses. Then I will take care of Daniel.” 

  Phil bowed his head, but he did not trust Clide with Dan one bit. Not after all the mad stuff he had said before, also the way Dan reacted to Clide was a major red flag. Another reason he was going to trail behind them, was that he could also not let this boy slip through his fingers, if he didn't follow them there was a good chance Phil would never see Dan again, and the thought of that felt like a bullet to the heart.

  So after they fetched the horses from the church, Phil pulled Dan aside, “Phil, I’m so sorry I dragged you into this. I shouldn't have lied to you, especially since I probably won't see you for a long, long time,” Dan said. But Phil just smiled and shook his head, “I understand why you didn’t tell me about Clide, I wouldn’t have either. But Dan, I'm sure you’ll be seeing much sooner than you think…” Before they could say anything else, Clide called sternly for Dan. “Goodbye,” Dan said to Phil, before walking over and being pulled onto the horse. With that, they were off, setting a steady pace down the cobblestone road.

     Phil did not wait long to mount Holly and ride after them, deliberately ignoring orders from Clide to stay in the city. It wasn't hard to follow them, the flash of Clide’s horse’s tail was easy to spot when they turned a corner, and there were only a few times where he nearly lost them. Phil was able to trail them to the northern exit of the city, where Dan and Clide rode into the thick forest.

   When Phil was positive they were far enough away from each other that Clide could not hear him, he left the city as well, breaking into a steady gallop. He remembered Dan saying he lived just to the north of London, and he wondered how far his home actually was. Phil was expecting it to be much farther than it actually was, because in the blink of an eye he approached the biggest mansion he had ever seen. It towered above the trees, and had four stories of windows on the dark, brick walls. One side of the house had a large, beautiful balcony looking over the whole entire forest. Phil couldn’t believe  _this_ is where Dan lived, it was so magnificent and big, it rivaled Blenheim Palace in it’s beauty.

      After marveling at the manor, Phil dismounted Holly and tied her reins to a thin tree so she couldn’t run off. In the distance, he could see Clide escorting Dan inside. He snuck ahead further so that he was far away, but close enough to hear their conversation. He hid behind a tree and listened to what Clide was saying to Dan, “Now you see how the world is so cruel and wicked. I was only trying to shelter you from the world’s evil nature. How could you betray me like this, my boy?”

     Dan hung his head in shame, “I'm sorry master,” he tried to apologize, but Clide only spoke over him. “Now boy, you see that you don't belong with normal men. You belong in here, your sanctuary from the dangers of the world. You will go into your room, and you will not be able to come out for any reason for two weeks. I will deliver you bread and water for food. Now come my boy, I will lock you in, and then go back to the Festival where I am needed,” Clide said, placing his hand gently on the small of Dan’s back and guiding him into the mansion.

    When they were inside, Phil took the chance to get closer to the door. He ran up the pathway and past the stables, behind a large bush near the entrance of the house. He waited patiently for Clide to return and leave, so he could slip inside and find Dan. After about five minutes, the old priest exited the house with a very stressed, concerned look on his face, he would glance down at his nether regions every few seconds as well. But Clide ignored whatever was bothering him and got back on his horse, then hastily rode away into the forest. Father Niccolo had for some reason neglected to lock the doors, so Phil didn’t have to climb through a window or anything to go inside. He just stepped in through the doors.

      “Oh my…” Phil gasped as he ventured into the grand foyer, looking around in wonder. There were two marble staircases on either side of the room that lead to the second floor. There were also four wooden doors along the walls, and when Phil glanced down one he found a long, dark corridor that lead to who-knows-where. Not only was the architecture pleasing to the eye, but the walls were painted beautifully as well. “This place is amazing. But how am I going to find Dan in this place?” Phil asked himself. He doubted that Dan’s room was on the first floor, so he ascended up the stairs with his cape flowing behind him.

      The second floor was well lit with candles and oil lamps and such, leading Phil to believe that some had recently been using them. “Hello! Dan! Can you hear me? Are you even there?” Phil called, his voice echoing off the long corridors. For a second he thought he heard a response, but it must have been nothing. Phil opened every door down the hallway he was in, but discovered nothing. He concluded that Dan might be on the third floor instead.

     He found the next stairwell at the end of the hallway, and sprinted up, arriving on the third floor in no time. Phil squinted his eyes and peered down the long hallway, to realize that he could see a dog at the far end. It was snuggled up next to a door, like it was guarding it or waiting for something. When it saw Phil approaching, it perked up and began to growl. “Susie what are you barking at? There's no one here,” Phil heard Dan say irritably from the other side of the door. Phil thought about responding, then he thought of a better idea.

   He knew that the door would be locked, and that he couldn't get in, so he wouldn’t be able to just open the door. Luckily, he knew how to pick locks. He pulled out a metal badge from his shirt, and used the metal needle on the back of it to pick the lock. He quietly fished around for the magic spot, and when he heard the click, he twisted the knob and the door unlocked. Phil smirked to himself as he pushed the door open as silently as possible. With the dog still barking, Dan wasn't able to hear Phil come into the room. Dan was at a desk, facing away from the door and reading a book.

   Phil slowly crept up behind him, and leaned in to whisper in his ear, “Hello, Danny Boy.”

     Dan reacted at the speed of lightning, letting out a high pitched scream and instinctively whipping around to punch Phil in the gut. Phil grasped his fist mid swing, and began to laugh at Dan’s extremely startled and confused expression. “Phil?! Why would you do that?! I hate you!” Dan yelled, shoving Phil's hand away. “I'm sorry, I just couldn’t resist it!” Phil laughed, starting to run out of breath. At first, Dan was very angry, but that didn’t last long, his mad expression melted into one of fondness, Phil was so cute and dorky it was hard to stay angry at him.

   “How did you even get in here?” Dan questioned, closing his book to face Phil all the way. “I followed you guys here, came in, found your door, and picked the lock,” Phil explained, plopping down onto Dan’s bed, trying to regain his breath. “Won’t Clide be expecting you back in London?” Dan chuckled, getting up to sit next to Phil. “Yeah, I didn't really think of that. But I'm sure it’s fine, besides, being here will be worth his anger,” Phil said, causing Dan to blush wildly.

    Then Dan remembered his mangled face, and how there was no way Phil could ever see him as more than a friend, there was no way someone could love a face like his. “This place is really big Dan, do you have it all to yourself?” Phil asked. “Basically, but of course I have Susie, and Clide also lives here, but he usually comes home late. So most of the time I'm alone in here,” Dan told him. “You know Dan, I think I’d like a tour,” Phil declared, jumping to his feet. “Really? I'm not supposed to leave my room,” Dan told him, he had already gone against his master's wishes once today, he couldn't possibly do it again.

   “I promise I'll get you back to your room in time,” Phil swore, he would hate to be the perpetrator of an even worse punishment for Dan. Dan bit his lip trying to decide what to do, causing Phil to feel heat rush to his cheeks. What was this boy doing to him? No one had made him feel so happy in his whole life. “Alright I'll do it, I’ll show you around the house, but if you get bored you can't complain.”

  “I’d never get bored of you, Dan,” Phil said in all honestly. Dan blushed heavily once more, before getting up and leading Phil out of the room.


	8. Dan Finds Out

   A whole hour had passed since Dan had begun to show Phil around the house. He had started with the first floor, showing him the Den, kitchen, and Downstairs Library. They were on the second floor now, just finishing up the second library, “I can't believe you have two libraries; all to yourself as well. What else could you possibly have in this home? A garden? A ballroom?” Phil asked rhetorically. “Actually, I have both. Which one would you like to see first?”

  Phil didn’t even take two seconds to answer, “The garden!” He exclaimed, gardens were much more exciting than ballrooms. “Ok then, follow me,” Dan said, grabbing Phil's hand and taking him back down to the first floor. “I love the gardens, they’re the only way I can actually breathe fresh air. They’re beautiful too, you see after the original house burned down, my master rebuilt it. He decided to have a garden rather than an open courtyard. You see he is a good man, he just has a hard time showing it,” Dan explained, but Phil could tell that in his heart, he did not believe Clide was a good person.

  “Do you know how the fire started?” Phil asked. “No, my master doesn’t like to talk about the fire with me, he says it brings up bad memories, and has given me very little information on anything about it,” Dan told him. They arrived at the garden, and Phil was ecstatic with anticipation. “I bet it’s gorgeous! I mean, everything in this manor is gorgeous, what am I talking about why wouldn’t it be gorgeous…” Phil babbled, but trailed off in wonder as he actually got to step out onto the stone path. All around him, there were all sorts of rare flowers, shrubs, and trees compiled into one place. “It’s like something straight out of a fantasy novel,” Phil commented, touching a cherry blossom tree. “Yes, it is quite amazing, isn’t it,” Dan said, although he wasn’t looking at any plant.

  They walked slowly to the center of the garden, Phil was naming all of the flowers he knew. “There are so many kinds!” Phil noted, stroking the large leaf of an odd shrub. “Yeah, we have almost every flower species except for a few,” Dan told him, watching fondly as Phil went over to the fountain. “Father Niccolo really out did himself on this place, didn’t he?” Phil muttered to himself, dipping his fingers into the water. “Do you have a coin on you?” Phil asked,changing the subject and turning to Dan.

  “What? Why?” Dan asked. “I'm going to make a wish,” Phil said casually. Dan chuckled at him, but gave him a coin anyways. “You're ridiculous,” Dan said as he tossed the coin into the fountain, closing his eyes and making the wish. When he was finished he turned back to Dan, “What did you wish for?” Dan asked as they left the garden. “I can't tell you, or else it won't come true,” Phil joked. Dan sighed, could he be more adorable? He went along with it and changed the subject. They stepped inside and began to walk “Ready to see the ballroom?” Dan asked as he walked the the end of the hall to a set of double doors where the ballroom was.

  “Let's see it,” Phil said. Dan took hold of the brass doorknobs and pulled the doors open to reveal the ballroom. He hadn't been in there in years, it was useless to him as he never had anyone to dance with. He had almost forgotten the amount of space it had, how smooth the wooden floors were, and the deep red curtains hanging all around the walls. The ceiling was also plated with gold linings. “This is magnificent! Dan you're so lucky!” Phil exclaimed as he walked towards the center of the room.

  “Is this where you practice all of your dancing?”

  “No, I haven't danced in years. My master reminds me that my scars are too ugly for me to ever leave the manor, let alone be a performer, when I think it’s a good idea to leave the house. And today proved he was right.”

  Phil frowned and furrowed his eyebrows. “Come here,” he ordered, beckoning Dan over to him. Dan slowly walked over, wary of whatever Phil was going to attempt. “Did he really tell you you’re too hideous to go outside?” Phil asked. “Yes, and he was right, like I just said, look at what happened at the Festival. I haven't left here for twenty six years for a reason,” Dan joked, but Phil wasn't laughing. “Well he's wrong, because you're the opposite of hideous,” Phil said in all seriousness. Dan’s smile melted away to a look of bewilderment.

  “But look at my scars-”

  “I don't care about them. They're apart of you, which means they're beautiful,” Phil interrupted, he reached up to place his hand on Dan’s scarred cheek, but Dan grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “Why are you saying these things?” Dan questioned, with his heart beating faster than it had been five minutes ago.

   “Because whatever Father Niccolo has been telling you all these years is wrong. Daniel, you're not ugly, or repulsive, or too hideous to go outside, you're none of that. The only reason Father Niccolo tells you these things is to control you. But you have to believe me when I say that you are gorgeous,” Phil told him, breaking free of Dan’s wrist and gently laying his fingers against the burned away skin without flinching. He began to stroke his thumb across Dan’s upper cheek, and tears of joy began to well up in his eyes.

  Not even Clide liked touching his face most of the time, but here was Phil, touching him like he had nothing but silky, smooth skin. They gazed into each other's eyes with pure desire and attraction, at that moment nothing else mattered and whatever feelings they had pushed aside were now surfacing all at once. In unison, both their eyes flickered closed and before Dan could register what was happening, their lips were pressed together with such softness and care Dan internally compared it to kissing clouds. He felt light headed and dizzy, yet electrified and buzzed at the same time, and he could tell Phil felt the same way.

  It was a long, amazing kiss, but eventually they had to pull away from each other, even if they hated it. They stood in silence with their foreheads pressed together, recovering from what had just happened. Phil was the first to break the silence. “That was amazing,” He said with a soft chuckle. Dan began to grin giddily along with Phil, “It was, wasn't it,” Dan agreed. He'd never felt so joyful in his life, and in that moment Dan knew that he would not let this man vanish from his life after he left. That was unthinkable.

  “Would you like to continue the tour?” Dan asked, he still had to show Phil the balcony. “Of course,” So Dan took his hand and lead him down the hallway back to the grand foyer, and up all the flights of stairs until they reached the fourth floor. There weren’t very many doors on the fourth floor, and almost all of them were off limits to Dan, they were all for his master’s work. “What’s up here?” Phil asked as Dan walked with him down the hallway. “To be honest, I don’t really know. My master forbids me from going into any of these rooms. Especially the attic, that’s where he sleeps,” Dan explained. As the night had gone on, and Phil had learned more and more about the way Father Niccolo was treating Dan, he became incredibly suspicious. Phil was certain Clide was hiding something big from Dan, but he wasn’t sure what. “Maybe we should go look at it, the attic,” Phil suggested, getting a snort from Dan.

  “You’re either joking or going mad. If I went in there master would be even more outraged than he already is. It’s better to just leave it alone, besides, you have to see the balcony,” Dan replied, guiding Phil to the balcony. “It’s locked, so we won’t be able to go out on it, but you can still see through the glass,” Dan told him, feeling disappointed Phil would have to miss out on the amazing view. “That’s nonsense, hold on just a minute,” Phil took the same pin he had used to pick the lock for Dan’s room, and began to do the same to the balcony doors. “Phil! You can’t do that!” Dan exclaimed, yet he made no physical effort to stop him. “Dan, you have to stop doing whatever Father Niccolo tells you, it’s like you're his servant, or prisoner,” Phil said, but Dan just pushed his comment aside and focused on being anxious to go onto the balcony.

  Phil swung the doors open coaxed him onto it by kissing Dan on the cheek, so he was stunned enough to follow him out. Then, finally, they stood on the balcony gazing out on the forest and the rooftops of London. It was dead silent where the stood, the only sound was the occasional caw of a bird, and the warm, summer breeze blew their hair back. “It’s so peaceful up here. You can see everything,” Phil noted as he leaned against the marble railing, staring in the direction of Big Ben.

  “I’m only allowed up here two times a year to watch the Christmas Festival, and Midsummer Festival, that's it. I watch the people with this telescope master bought me when I was a kid. I look forward to it all year, so this morning when the doors were locked I made the decision to go. I’m so glad I did,” Dan told him. Phil smiled at him and wrapped his arm around Dan’s shoulder. “I am too,” he then looked over at Dan and added, “But I don’t want you to stay in here forever. After I’m done working for Clide, I’m going to come back and get you, so we can run off together. You don’t deserve imprisonment Dan. You deserve the world.” Dan was speechless, but he couldn’t leave, not after seeing the way other people, (besides Phil), saw him at the Festival. When Phil realized Dan was not going to respond to his plan, he took Dan’s mind off of one difficult thing, to another. “Dan, before I leave, I want to go into the attic. I truly believe Father Niccolo is hiding something important in there,” Phil said, unavoidably breaking the mood. “Phil, I told you, I’m not going up there,” Dan replied, pulling himself out of Phil’s arms. “I’m sure you won’t, but I’ll go in on my own. Only for a few minutes,” Phil told him. Dan still disapproved heavily.

  “You can’t, my master is not stupid Phil, he’ll know somebody was up there. If he figures out it wasn’t me he’ll know it was you quickly, and you could get hurt,” Dan warned him. “Yes but whatever he’s hiding from you, will certainly hurt you more than he could ever hurt me, that’s why I want to look up there,” Phil argued, and when Dan said nothing, and did nothing to stop him, Phil marched off the balcony and back into the hall with Dan trailing close behind.

  “Which one is it?” Phil asked, and Dan pointed to the very end of the hall to a door slightly bigger than the rest. “To be honest, I'm not sure if it's locked. He just assumes I know better than to go up there,” Dan said as they approached the dark wooden entrance. Phil turned the knob, and just like Dan had said, it opened without a problem. The doors swung out to reveal a steep, spiral, stone staircase. “Are you sure you don't want to come up?” Phil asked one last time. Dan hesitated, he trusted Phil so much and was curious about his past, but respected his master and did not want to betray him.

  “I'll go up, but I'm not leaving the doorway,” Dan decided. Phil grinned ear to ear and without a word, began to ascend up the staircase. Dan paused a moment, what if something life changing was up there? Or what if there was nothing, and he was doubting his master for no reason. There was only one, true was to find out, and that was to follow Phil. So Dan unhurriedly went after Phil, each step causing a bit more dread in his heart. The stairwell was short, and Dan stood in the doorframe much sooner than he had anticipated.

  Phil was already digging through Clide’s desk, while Dan stood there and looked around his master's bedroom. It was far larger than Dan’s, and a window allowed the moonlight to illuminate the room beautifully. On the bedside table, Dan couldn't help but catch glimpse of a photo of a toddler, the kid had curly hair, a wide smile, and a burned face. It was Dan. He remembered the day that had been taken. Clide had borrowed the camera from a friend to take the picture, and when he told Dan about it, he had gotten way too excited. It was like yesterday.

  On the other end of the attic, there was a large, stone fireplace with a single, red chair placed in front of it. “A fireplace the the attic? That's a bit odd…” Dan commented as Phil continued to look all over the room for anything interesting. Then, Phil looked under the bed. “Here's something,” he announced, pulling out a small, wooden chest.


	9. Clide Gets a Boner and Is Creepy AF About It.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is one of the chapters with some non-consensual advancements, if that upsets you in anyway you can skip this chapter and a summary of what happened will be given in later chapters. Also, who else agrees that Claude Frollo from the Hunchback is the best Disney villain, and has the best Disney Villain song? If you feel inclined to, put your favorite Disney Villains in the comments. Chow!

Phil proceeded to pick the lock like he had on the balcony, and the lid popped open. When Phil saw the contents, he gasped loudly and shoved the chest away. “What is it?” Dan asked, and without a thought went over to peek inside the chest. When he did, he understood why Phil had pushed it away. 

Inside of it, Phil not only saw a burned handkerchief, he saw a picture of Dan’s family before the fire had happened. His mum, his dad, even his baby brother, and Dan, were in the photo. It would’ve been a lovely picture, if their faces had not been crossed out with red X’s with the word, SINNERS, scribbled on the glass.

One thing Dan knew about his master, was that he kept journals for every year of his life. And inside of this chest, was one of those  leather bound diaries. “Are you going to open it?” Phil questioned, placing a comforting hand on Dan’s shoulder. Dan didn’t say anything, he just nodded solemnly. Dan then flipped it open to a random page, and as he read, he felt more and more nauseous.

**_September 28, 1852_ **

****

**_Next week on this day, my plan will finally be put into action. After months of diligent planning, I am ready to rid the earth of these unholy demons. The father is weak and cowardly, and spends his weekends gambling and drinking instead of being with the family. The mother does whatever she pleases, and rarely ever does womanly jobs. If I do not stop this, their two children will be raised in a home of nothing but sin and filth. Only I can save them from their own blood, I have to burn this house down once and for all. If the babies have to perish as well, so be it. It is my holy duty to cleanse the earth of such scum. Next week, the Howell’s will be nothing but ash, and I will be free._ **

 

**_Clide Niccolo._ **

Dan finished reading the journal entry, and when he finished he set it down on the floor in silence. His face had turned a ghostly white, and he felt as if his heart had been ripped out of his chest, his master had killed his parents? “What did it say Dan?” Phil asked, looking at Dan with extreme concern. “My master, he killed my parents. He started the fire all those years ago, he burned down my house and family, and then took everything they owned for his own selfish desires. My whole life is a flat out lie,” Dan whispered, trying to keep the tears from rolling down his face. Phil opened his mouth to respond, but just then, the loud sound of the huge double doors opening reached their ears, and panic overcame them.

“Shit! Phil, you've got to go!” Dan said, speedily putting all of the contents back into the chest and jumping to his feet. They shoved it back under the bed and ran down the spiral stairway, slamming the door behind them. Dan sprinted with Phil back to the balcony, and could hear Clide calling his name from the first floor. “How are you going to get out?” Dan asked. “I can climb down. It doesn't look too hard,” Phil said, stepping out onto the terrace and looking down. “Are you sure? I don't want you to get hurt,” Dan said. “And I don't want you to get hurt either, go back to your room!” Phil ordered, beginning to step over the railing.

“When will I ever see you again?” Dan asked. “I don't know, I'll visit someday soon, I promise. But dear, you've got to hurry, Father Niccolo must be heading to your room,” Phil told him. “I'll leave, just...one more thing,” Dan said, before leaning over the railing, grabbing Phil's collar and pulling him in for one last kiss before pulling away and waving goodbye. In a dreamy state from the kiss, Dan began to run as fast as he could to the staircase.

He whirled down the stairs, and sprinted to his room where he closed the door quickly, making sure to lock it from the inside. Now that he was back in his room, he could fall onto the bed and think about all that had just happened. He didn't know how he was going to look Clide in the eyes, now that he knew what he knew. How could a man be so evil? To kill a whole family and lie to the surviving son that it was accidental? His baby brother had been in that fire, why had he chosen to save Dan, and not Adrian?

He had so many questions that he could never ask. He was trapped in here with a murderer, and if he did anything about it he would certainly become the next victim. But everything wasn't terrible, he had Phil.

So many times, Dan had watched a happy couple through his telescope and wanted that for himself. But of course, right after he would see his reflection and remind himself nobody could ever love a face like his. But then this-this angel had come along and touched his face without any fear, and Dan knew he cared for him. And even though Phil was riding away then, he knew that he would always be with him, and that days without him would seem like years.

Then, after maybe thirty seconds of sitting on his bed catching his breath, there was a knock at the door. “Hello, Daniel. May I come in?” Clide called from the other side. Dan wanted to say no so badly, he didn't want to be near that man, but he had no choice. “Yes, sir,” Dan replied. Soon after, the door slowly creaked open, and Clide stepped in with a small basket.

“I brought you something from the Festival. I feel bad that your day had to be cut short, but trust me when I tell you it was for a good lesson. You should have listened to me. But that doesn't matter right now, take the basket,” Clide said, holding it out to Dan, who took it without a word. “What do you say, Daniel?”

Dan sighed heavily, “Thank you, sir.” A weird grin Dan had never seen before spread across Clide’s face. “Good boy. Now, I will be in the attic. We’ve both had a long day,” Clide said, but before he left he walked over to Dan and ran his long, thin fingers through Dan’s soft curly hair, and Dan could have sworn he heard Clide let out a satisfied sigh. “I do it to protect you, Daniel. All the harsh punishments and lessons, they're to protect you,” the old man said before letting go of Dan’s hair and leaving the bedroom.

Dan couldn't help but feel that he had somehow been violated, he wasn't sure how, but something odd had just happened. He forgot about it quickly, however, when he looked in the basket and saw a slice of pound cake. “Yes!” Dan exclaimed, he loved cake. He took out the fork, and without hesitation dug in.

 

                          ---------

 

It was officially 1 A.M. and Clide had not gotten a minute of sleep. Every single time he closed his eyes, he saw the silhouette of Daniel dancing in the square during the first dance and saw nothing else. It was driving his mad, because every time the boy came across his mind he felt an odd sensation, a sensation he had only felt when he was a teenager, a sinful sensation. 

He rolled over on his side, forgetting that the picture of Daniel as a toddler was on the bedside table. When he saw it, extreme guilt and anger arose in his body. How had this boy whom he had raised as his own son for so long, caused him to fall under a siren-like spell? It was certainly not his fault, he had not seen Daniel in this way until that afternoon during the first dance. He tried closing his eyes again, and there he was again, with his warm brown eyes and soft, pink lips, it was too obscene for words.

Clide’s eyes snapped open and he shouted furiously, “It's useless!” Clide rolled out of bed and went over to light the fireplace. “It’s not me, I am a righteous man. It's not my fault, it is Daniel’s,” Clide whispered to himself as he tossed a match on the logs, watching them catch fire instantly. “But why do I see him dancing there? Why do his warm brown eyes still scorch my soul? I feel him, and see him, the sun caught in his dark brown hair. It's blazing in me out of all control! Like some sort of-of hellfire! What is wrong with me?” Clide muttered, slouching back into the chair, rubbing his eyes tiredly, staring into the blazing fireplace.

He stood up and walked over to his bedside table to grab the old photograph. Daniel had always been a cute kid, always so polite, always calling him sir. Now, that was a bad thing, as hearing the word sir from Dan’s mouth made Clide feel weak in the knees. This new found lust was something Clide knew he couldn't control, the thought of running his hands over Daniel’s smooth, slender legs overwhelmed him and he knew he could not hold back for long.

“It-it’s not my fault. I'm not to blame! It's him..he’s bewitched me! I don't know how, but he did! Oh god, why have you made the devil so much stronger than a man?” Clide said, convincing himself that he was not to blame for this treachery. He then thought, he leaves Daniel alone for hours, with unlimited access to all sorts of books. Was it possible that he had read a book containing dark magic, Satanism? And was now using those curses on Clide? “No, that is ridiculous. Daniel would not practice witchcraft under this roof…”

He stared into the fire intensely, like it would give him the answer. Clide gasped, he could have sworn that he saw the shape of Daniel’s young, pliant, body dancing seductively in the flames. “It cannot be… I am seeing him everywhere! Daniel is twisting my thoughts with these dark, sinful desires! He must have some magic hold over me, there is no other explanation. I should have let him burn in the fire like the rest of his God awful family! I should’ve known corruption was in his blood!” Clide hissed, glaring at the photo in his hand.

“I will not let this demon cast his spell! I won't let his fire sear my flesh and bone! I will not let this... _hellfire_ cast upon my soul consume me, but now that he has burned me, it is his turn! I’ll give him a chance thought, to save himself. He Will choose me, or the fire, or he will meet his pyre! God have mercy on him, for he will be mine, or he will burn!” Clide declared, and chucked the photo into the fire, watching it burn slowly. When the paper in the frame began to burn, Clide left the attic, collecting a knife, a belt, and matches to capture Daniel if he wanted to resist Clide’s advances on him. Clide descended to the third floor, and speed walked all the way down the hall to Daniel’s room, the urge he had been feeling since the First Dance stronger than it had been all day. He hid the knife and rope behind his back, and placed the matches in the front pocket of his night gown.

He knocked gently on the door, perhaps Daniel was still awake. There was no response, Clide knocked again, but louder. No answer. Clide sighed impatiently and opened the door quietly, if Daniel was asleep he wanted to wake him up in the most non-threatening way possible. Clide looked around, and like he guessed, saw the boy sleeping in his bed, snoring softly. Clide grinned as he walked closer to Daniel, his face was so innocent and sinless when he was asleep, no allusion to the dark magic he was using. Clide sat on the bed, and grabbed Daniel’s shoulder gently, slightly shaking it. “Daniel, wake up I need to speak with you,” Clide whispered into his ear.

It took a second or two, but eventually Dan’s eyes flickered open to see his master hovering above him. “What are you doing, sir?” Dan said hoarsely, having just woken up. Clide bit his lip hard at his soft, tired voice, he had to wait only a few more minutes. “I was upstairs, thinking, and I realized something, about you,” Clide murmured, trying to come up with whatever lie he was going to tell to get into the boy’s trousers. “And you couldn’t wait until morning, sir?” Dan asked, feeling uneasy about the situation. “No, this is very urgent,” Clide said, leaning in even closer to Dan, gazing down at his supple lips.

“Daniel, I realized that you are a virgin. Normally, I would object to coitus before marriage, but this is different. You see you will never get the chance to know what a woman’s touch feels like, or what that kind of pleasure is like. And I can’t help but feel bad about that, no man should ever go sexless his entire life. He should experience it at least once,” Clide explained. Dan’s stomach dropped as he began to predict where this conversation might be heading. He was wondering if this was some kind of disgusting joke. “I thought, that since I am the only human that you will come into contact with, and I am supposed to raise you, it is my duty to help you with this,” Clide said, pushing aside Dan’s sleeve and laying a hand on Dan’s bare shoulder.

“You want to... have sex with me?” Dan asked, trying not to vomit in his own mouth. So not only was Clide a murderer, but a pervy creep too. Clide didn’t answer his question, or even give Dan warning before he was forcing his own dry, wrinkled lips onto Dan’s, grasping shoulder hard enough to leave bruises. Not only did he kiss him, but he began to forcefully guide Dan’s hand to his lap. Dan struggled against him until he was able to overpower the old man and shove him away. “Get away from me now!” Dan shouted, jumping out of bed and backing away from the bed. “You ungrateful little heathen! If you will not comply to my needs I will have no choice but to kill you!” Clide shouted, pulling out the knife and belt. “What are you going to do? Burn me alive like you did to my family?!” Dan hissed, looking around for a weapon. Clide faltered, “You know about that? How...? Bah! Who cares, you won’t live to talk about it you unholy demon of hell! You bewitch me, and you die in return!”

“What are you on about?” Dan asked. “I know you’ve put a curse on me! To make me lust for you the way I should lust for a woman my age, you used dark magic!” Clide declared, grasping the knife tight and stepping forwards. “You’ve gone mad! There is no curse, it’s your own sick, twisted mind that wants me!”

Clide lunged, screaming at the top of his lungs. But before he could reach him, Dan kicked his master straight in the stomach, causing him to kneel over in pain. Dan took the opportunity to make a break for it, he sprinted down the long hall, and when he reached the staircase didn’t stop for a second. On the second floor, he heard saw Susie napping at the entrance to the library. Knowing Clide, he would certainly target the dog if he could not harm Dan.

So Dan swiftly scooped the dog into his arms and continued to run to the ground floor, and out the door. He had never ridden a horse on his own before, but Dan knew that if Clide had access to one he would be able to catch up to Dan with not struggle. So Dan rushed to the stables and carefully mounted Clide’s horse. He had no idea what to do, he had read a horseback riding book a few years back, but he could barely remember anything. He had to try though, so he gripped onto Susie with one hand, and the horse's mane with another, and dug his heels into the horse's side.

It took a few seconds to get the horse to turn around, but eventually it worked and he was able to exit the stables. Dan felt wobbly for the first two or three minutes on the horse, but eventually got the hang of it and was able to break into a steady gallop as Clide appeared in the doorway. The old man shouted into the air angrily, and yelled to Dan, “I’ll get you boy! You’ll be mine if it's the last thing I ever do!” At that moment, Dan knew he could never return, he was ho


	10. Uh Oh, Clide Has an Army and Torches.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize, this chapter is a lot shorter than I realized, but I'm too tired and lazy to add on to it. Oh well.

  Dan decided he would head to London, it was big enough that the chance of Clide finding him there was slim to none. When he reached the city, and found a place to stay, then he would find Phil and tell him what had happened, then beg him to run away with him. The problem was, he had no clue where to start looking for Phil. Well, he had a clue, he could probably find him at Clide’s cathedral, but Dan knew the risk of going there was far too great. Susie was progressively getting more restless and anxious, she’d never been this far away from the manor and all the new smells must have been far too overwhelming. She squirmed in his arms, causing Dan to feel unbalanced on the back of the horse. “Susie, sit still! This is serious!” Dan exclaimed, sighing in relief as he saw the city entrance in the distance. “We’ve made it Susie, now we’ve gotta find a temporary home,” Dan told the dog as the horse slowed to a walk, and they entered London. 

   The crowds gazed up at him in shock and horror, and Dan suddenly remembered his face was uncovered, he was in a nightgown, holding a dog, and riding a horse. He must have been an odd sight. Dan ignored their stares, his business was none of theirs. He was halfway down the dead silent street, when he heard a familiar voice calling out his name. “Dan! Is that you?” Dan looked all around for her, but couldn't see her. “Dan! Over here!” Dan looked far to ahead to his right, and spotted none other than Louise, the woman he had danced with earlier that day, standing and waving cheerfully at him. Dan smiled widely and dismounted his horse with Susie in his arms, heading over to her.

  “Louise! It feels like forever since I've last see you!” Dan exclaimed, so pleased that somehow she had been in the right place at the right time. “I know, the Festival always seems like weeks. Now, this is going to be an odd question…” this is when she was going to ask about Dan’s face. “Why are you still in your pajamas?” Louise asked, gesturing to the pale, blue nightgown. Dan was confused, she wasn’t reacting to his face at all. “I had to make a quick escape, there was no time to put on clothing. I know this is a lot to ask of you, but I can't go home anymore. I'm on the run, and I'm afraid my life is in grave danger, do you know any places I could perhaps stay for a couple nights, just until I get out,” Dan asked.

  “Well Dan, it looks like you're talking to the right girl. Follow me, I have the perfect place,” Louise said. But before they left, Dan picked up a random rope he saw lying on the ground, and used it to attach Clide’s horse to a wooden pole. If he took the horse with him, it would be a huge indicator to where he was if anybody found it. So he left it in a place where both Dan and Clide would have to go through, so when Clide discovered his horse he wouldn't have any leads. When he finished, Dan turned to Louise and they began to make their way to wherever Louise was taking them.

  “So, how was your day after the first dance? Did you meet any lucky ladies?” Louise asked as they turned down a narrow alley way. Dan didn’t know how to answer, “I did meet someone. They're the person I'm looking for, once I tell them what happened we’re going to run away together, and we'll be safe,” Dan told her, they were now on a long, narrow street that was far sketchier than where they had just been. Men in rags sat on the side of the road, clutching their stomach in hunger, while glaring at Dan and Louise intensely.

  “Ignore them, half of the people in this neighborhood are drug addicts, but they are harmless,” Louise explained. Not only were there starving men and children, but dozens of prostitutes walking up and down the street making eyes at men passing by. There were a few pubs and dingy restaurants, but Louise led him past all of those to a tall, white and pink building that read. “Pentland’s Brothel” in bold letters above the door. “A brothel? Is it yours?” Dan asked. “No, it's my cousin’s, but it's a hideout for our whole family. It has plenty of empty rooms, and I'm sure whoever is after you would never think to look in these slums. You're very safe here, Dan,” Louise said, holding the door open for him. Dan was unsure, this was exactly the type of place his master would want him to avoid. Which meant that Dan should go in, and do the opposite of what Clide would want.

  So he stepped in with Susie, and shut the door behind him.

  
  


                            ---------

 

   There weren't even words to describe the fury Clide felt at that moment. As he stormed into the city, shoving past the peasants surrounding him on the street. He had been forced to walk for thirty minutes through the forest because of that ungrateful heathen, Daniel. There was no question, Clide would capture him with the might of the holy church, have him in whatever way he pleased, and then burn him on a stake in front of the whole city. 

  About halfway down the street, Clide spotted his horse tied to a wooden pole. “So he's in London, eh? If he wants to play this desperate game of Hide and Seek, I'll let him!” Clide looked around and pointed at a young man standing a few feet away. “You! In the name of the Catholic Church, untie my horse!” Clide ordered. The man didn’t question him, he just hastily untied the rope and handed it to Clide who was waiting impatiently. The instant the horse was free, Clide swung himself up and rode away, not even thanking the young man. He galloped down the cobblestone street, not caring if he nearly ran over innocent civilians, there was a demon in the city, and he had to find it.

  It wasn’t long before he reached his church, he flung himself of the horse and burst inside shouting for the general. “General Lester! General Philip Lester come into the sanctuary now!” Phil could hear all the way from his quarters Clide had told him about during the Festival. Phil immediately began to worry, his thoughts going directly to Dan. He dropped his hairbrush and ran to the sanctuary, where Clide stood looking disheveled and infuriated, Phil knew something was very, very wrong. “What is it, sire?” Phil questioned, pretending like he wasn’t fearing for Dan’s safety. “I need you to gather the all the guards in the square! We’re going on a hunt!” Clide ordered. “For what sire?” Phil asked. “For Daniel James Howell! He is officially under arrest for witchcraft, and assaulting an important figure of the church! He is a plague upon London that must be captured!”

  Phil’s heart sank to his stomach, what the hell had Dan gotten himself into?    

  Phil had no choice but to do as he was told, bow, and say, “Yes sir!” He then marched outside and mounted his horse to head to the guard barracks of the city. He went through all the possibilities of what might have happened in his mind, and all of them were horrible. He just knew that the man he...liked very much… was in great trouble, and he had to figure out a way to save him from Clide’s wrath, while keeping the priest’s trust. He arrived at the closest barracks, and the second he stepped inside all of the men inside turned and gaped at him in awe.

  “General Lester? What are you doing in here?” One of the soldiers asked, setting down his deck of cards. “I have the warrant of arrest for a young man named Daniel Howell. He is under suspicion of witchcraft, and attacking a priest of the catholic church. Gather your stuff, and meet me in the square outside of Saint Mary’s Holy Catholic Church, we will begin the search there,” Phil announced to them. They saluted him, and then scrambled to get all of their junk together. Phil stepped outside and waited patiently for the soldiers to come outside. When over three dozen of them stood outside the barracks, he remounted his horse and beckoned for them to follow him to the square.

  They arrived to find Father Niccolo standing on the steps of the church, waiting to give them all their orders. When the troops had lined up in an orderly fashion, and a crowd of civilians had been drawn, Clide began to speak, “On this day, a demon has slipped through the gates of London! He has assaulted and cursed me, and he will do the same to all of you if we do not find and catch him! For too long, we have allowed sin and corruption to run amuck on our sacred streets, ruining the legacy London has left for itself! So while we are searching for the devil in sheep's clothing, do not be afraid to use force against any peasant that stands in your way! Just don't lose sight of the goal, I don’t care if you have to burn down half of London! I want the boy Daniel James Howell alive! He is tall, with brown curly hair, and has burn scars on his face! Now go, before he is able to slip through our fingers!” Clide yelled. “General Lester, you and I will find him, I promise. Also, make sure to send a few guards to all of the barracks, to alert the other soldiers, this is a city wide search,” Clide ordered.

  Phil nodded and pulled aside five soldiers to tell them to go around to all of the barracks and give them the others orders to hunt down Dan.  After that, Phil and Clide, both on their horses, joined the soldiers in the search for Dan. Phil prayed to god, that they would not find him, because if they did something truly terrible might happen.

 


	11. Thiiss City's on Fiirreee!!!

Dan sat in his room in the brothel, gazing out the window, completely unaware of what was happening in the streets. He was just missing Phil and wondering what his life was going to become. He stroked Susie as he looked down at the people on the street, even though most of them were in poverty, they were talking and laughing together, all getting along on the night of the Festival. 

It was odd, to think that the Festival had only been a handful of hours ago, it seemed like days since he had been wandering around the streets with Phil. “Dan,” Louise said, entering the room with a concerned tone in his voice. “Word on the street is that Father Niccolo from Saint Mary’s Holy Catholic Church is tearing apart London in search of you. What the hell happened?” Louise asked, standing by him in the window. “I live with him, when my parents died in a fire he took me in, and raised me away from all civilization. But recently, in the past few hours, I think he’s developed this perverted attraction to me, and I don’t know why. But I rejected him, and I had to hurt him to escape, that’s what happened. Why, what is he saying?” Dan explained to her. “He’s saying that you’re practicing dark magic, and that you assaulted him. He’s burning down buildings, killing people, Dan this man really, really wants you,” Louise said, leaning her head on his shoulder. “He’s killing people? Over  _ me? _ ” Dan almost didn’t believe it, it was so preposterous, but he remembered the way he had been looking at him, speaking to him at the manor, and it wasn’t so crazy.

“I have to get out of this city as fast as possible. I need to find Phil and leave,” Dan declared, he couldn't let innocent people get hurt because of him. “Who is Phil?” Louise asked, taking a moment to put it together in her head, when she realized, her mouth dropped open. “You’re…you know what, it doesn't matter. If you need a place to escape to, there's a small village to the west of London called Dillington. A couple friends of mine own a pub where the local people spend most of their time, it's called C&J’s pub. Tell them you know me, and you'll be welcomed with open arms,” Louise explained to him.

Dan grinned happily, they had a chance at escape. “Thank you so much-” But Dan was cut off when he heard an all too familiar voice shouting from down the street. He looked back out the window, and saw a dozen soldiers holding torches and swords following behind Clide and Phil. “Four gold coins for the one who can direct us to a boy named Daniel!” Phil was yelling as he held up a fist, probably filled with gold.

“Phil!” Dan exclaimed, but his joy didn’t last long, as Dan’s master was right besides him. “No, Clide! Louise he's here!” Dan stated nervously. Dan watched in horror as he saw a man on the street speaking to Phil, and pointing at the brothel. Dan could see Phil's face, it was paler than usual and he looked stressed beyond belief. “I think they're coming! Louise what should I do?”

“Go out the side door and run, I'll handle the soldiers,” Louise told him. Dan paused, “What if you get hurt? I don't want to abandon you or anything.” Louise smirked and shook her head, “I can manage. Now go, before they discover you and you're captured,” she instructed. So Dan grabbed a long ribbon that just happened to be laying on the couch and used it as a makeshift leash for Susie, the dog could never be forgotten. As Phil and Clide approached the door, Dan had gone down the stairs and slipped out of the side door.

But instead of running like he probably should have, he stayed to watch what was happening. Phil knocked harshly on the door, and soon after Louise answered it. “Hello, I am General Philip Lester of the British Army. We have sources that tell us you are harboring a young man wanted by the law, his name is Daniel Howell. Do you have any knowledge of his whereabouts?” Louise shrugged. “I might know him, what does he look like?”

“He’s about 6’4, has brown eyes, curly hair, dimples, a scarred face,” Phil described. “Hmm, I may have seen a fellow like that around and about. Whether he’s been in this brothel, I can’t be sure. So many men come in and out it’s hard to keep track,” Louise said, Dan smiled, she was doing a fantastic job of misleading them. “Come on woman! We know he’s here! Tell us where he is or we will smite you!” Clide threatened bitterly, causing Louise’s teasing smile to melt of her face. “Listen mister, I don’t know where he is, I promise. He left about an hour ago, he said he was heading east, but he's unharmed and safe,” Louise lied, but she gave Phil a knowing look and an extremely subtle shake of the head, and he was able to catch on. Phil was forced to bite his lip to keep from beaming like a fool, “Thank you, you have been very helpful. Alright men! We head east!” Phil announced, beginning to lead his troops away, but Clide had other plans. “Wait,” Clide ordered, grasping onto Phil’s elbow. “Why? We know where Dan is heading,” Phil replied. “We have stumbled upon a nest of sin and lust, this brothel must be destroyed,” Clide declared. Phil frowned, “What do you mean?”

Clide sneered, “What do you think, boy? I want you to burn it down.” Phil froze, was this man serious? “But, sire, there are multiple people in there,” Phil argued. Clide nodded, “Yes, there are. But they are all hookers and sinful men, scum and trash. Nothing to feel guilty about, now take your torch and set it ablaze!” Clide said in an excited manner that sent chills up Phil’s spine, they had been sparing the people who had been helpful and directed them to Dan. Phil was frozen, he didn’t know if he could bring himself to do it.

“General Lester, what are you doing standing there? It's a whore house, it their lives have no value! Burn it!” Clide ordered. This was the moment Phil had to make a choice, was he going help spill more innocent blood, or would he take a stand;perhaps even lose his life. But then he remembered what Clide had done to Dan and his family, and that the man he was working for was nothing but pure evil, and he would not stand it any longer. “I will not kill another civilian. I refuse!” Phil declared, tossing the torch into a puddle, watching it proudly as it burned out.

“Gah! Traitor! General Lester, you are relieved of your duties!” Clide shouted, beckoning for a guard to hand him their sword. “Hold him down!” Clide barked, the guards hesitated, but after Clide yelled at them again, they were compliant. Two of them held Phil’s hands behind his back, and pushed down his back with their feet. “General Philip Lester, on account of treason, I bid you farewell!” Right as Clide was about to bring the sword down on Phil’s neck, Dan jumped forwards from the alley he had been hiding in. “NO, STOP!” He shouted, picking up the biggest stone he could find and chucking it at the soldiers holding down Phil. In the split second they were distracted, Phil elbowed the guard that had not been hit in the face, and knocked Clide to the ground. Phil scrambled to his feet, and barreled towards Dan.

“Come on, we’ve got to go!” Dan said, grasping onto Phil’s hand and running as fast as possible away from Clide and the soldiers. Once Clide had gathered himself, he turned to the guards and screamed, “GET THEM! IF YOU HAVE TO, KILL THE GENERAL SO BE IT, BUT DANIEL IS MINE!” After that, all of the soldiers charged after Dan and Phil with their swords raised. “Bloody Hell,” Dan cursed, “We have to pick up the pace!” Even though their legs ached, and they were hyperventilating, they were able to speed up and turn the corner. At least Susie, who had no idea they were in danger, was having a good time, this was the most running she’d ever done.

“Dan we have to hide!” Phil exclaimed, looking all over for a place to disappear to. However, before they could turn another corner, the sound of a crossbow releasing sounded through the air, and Phil automatically screamed out in agony. “Phil? Did you get shot?” Dan questioned, faltering in his step. “Yes, in the shoulder. I’ve had worse injuries before, now come on we’ve got to run!” Phil said, pushing through the pain and continuing forwards. They turned onto the next street, and saw an empty food stand left over from the Festival in the distance. “There!” Dan said, pointing to it.

The slid behind the stand, and waited in dead silence as all of the soldiers ran past. “How did you escape the house? What happened? Are you hurt? What did he do to you?” Phil bombarded him with question after question, his hands running all over Dan’s arms and face, wondering what on Earth could have sent Clide on such a violent onslaught. “He made sexual advances on me, and then I rejected him. I kneed him in the gut to get away, and stole his horse. Obviously, he did not take the rejection very well,” Dan explained, peaking over the top of the cart to check the road, there were still a few stragglers running by. “He tried to-I can’t even say it. What a creep,” Phil growled, feeling furious at the old priest. “Don’t worry about me, you have a bloody arrow sticking out of your shoulder!” Dan exclaimed. Phil took Dan’s face between his hands and said, “Dan, I promise you my shoulder is OK. We’re going to be OK.”

He then leaned in for a kiss, and got one. Dan melted into the kiss and thought to himself Phil would never seize to take his breath away. Now that they were in each other’s arms, the stress of the situation was only a background thought, for if they were together, nothing could be bad. Phil was the one to pull away, and as much as he hated it, he knew they had to move on before they were discovered. “Do you have an escape plan? Or are we just going to leave the city and live in recluse for the rest of our lives?” Phil asked. “Yes Phil, I do have a plan. To the west of London, there’s a pub that a friend of a friend owns, she said that we can find refuge there. I believe that if we can get there without being followed, we can escape,” Dan told Phil, looking deep into his ocean blue eyes.

“That sounds duable. But we’ll need to make a quick escape, I need to get my horse back,” Phil told him, Dan just nodded his head in agreement. “I can go with you,” Dan offered. Phil sighed and reached out to touch his face, brushing a little curl out of his eyes. “I knew you would say that, but I have to go alone, Dan,” Phil said, watching in guilt as Dan’s expression fell. “What? Why? We were just reunited and you want us to separate again? Why can’t I go with you, isn’t it safer if we stick together?” Dan questioned. “Not this time, Dan I left my horse in an area that was swarming with guards the last time I was there. If you step foot in that area there’s no doubt you’ll be caught,” Phil said, he’d rather go in alone and die, then let Dan go down with him.

“If it’s that dangerous we can walk to the village, it probably isn’t that far-” Before Dan could start to go on a tangent, Phil cut him off, “Yes, but after it’s safe to leave the village, how far will we have to go on foot? And what if we’re discovered and have to make a quick escape? We need Holly.” Dan sighed heavily, closing his eyes and responding, “Fine, you can get the horse. Comeback and meet me here when you get it, and here right after.” Dan ordered, fearing the worst. “Of course I’ll come right back to you. Stay safe Dan,” Phil said, giving him a small peck on the forehead before jumping up and vanishing down the dark street.

Phil ran as swiftly and silently as he could, he had to be as stealthy as possible. He reached the street with the brothel, and scanned the cramped road. There were four guards pacing up and down the street, looking for anything suspicious. “Damn it! How am I going to do this?” Phil asked himself. Surely the arrow in his shoulder was enough to give something way, let alone his armor and how well known his face was. In the end, the best plan he could think of was to take his cape, wear it like a cloak, keep his head down, and pray to god that he wasn’t spotted. So he took his cape and wrapped it around his body, concealing his face as much as possible.

The street was relatively crowded, so he was able to hide among groups of people as he carefully made his way down the street. He did get some curious looks from other pedestrians, mostly they were looking at the arrow in his back, which looked like an odd lump under the cape to others. But the soldiers remained oblivious, ignoring Phil like the rest of the people. Finally, he reached the end of the road and turned the corner onto an emptier one without any visible guards. Phil picked up the pace from then on, retracing his steps until finally he reached the place he left Holly.

It was a big, open area with a small guard barracks, and mini stables. Soldiers were crawling all over the place, chatting and laughing with each other as they “kept watch” for Dan or Phil. “Ey, Bruno, what do ya think of this Niccolo guy?” One of them asked his friend, as they sat on a bale of hay by the stables. “A bit creepy, I don't understand why he wants this one guy so badly, but I understand wanting to get rid of every whore and gypsy in the city. They're human rubbish,” Bruno replied, and Phil couldn't help but feel revolted. People actually shared Clide’s mindset? He thought Clide was more of an extremist, but apparently not. It majority disappointed Phil.

But he had no time to dwell on these things, Dan was waiting for him and he had to get a move on. So he picked up a nearby stick, and tossed it across the courtyard so it would make a loud noise and distract the guards. “What was that Bruno?”

“I don't know, but let's go check it out.” They got to their feet and ran down the street Phil had thrown the stick. Phil took the opportunity to rush to the stables when all of the other guards had also glanced in the other direction. He speedily unwrapped his horse's reins from the stables, and pulled himself up. He turned the horse around, steered it in the direction Phil had come from. For a moment, Phil thought he was actually going to escape without a hitch, but that was only for a second.

“There he is! The General! Get him!” He heard a soldier shouted, and then the sound of multiple swords being unsheathed, and heavy footsteps. Phil groaned loudly, before bringing his horse to a speedy gallop. “You, alert Father Niccolo that General Lester has been found!” Another man shouted, and at that point Phil knew the plan had fallen apart. If Clide was involved, there was no doubt Dan and Phil would not escape in time. But Phil had to try. He galloped down the streets, yelling for civilians to move out of the way as he barreled down the roads.

Phil had no trouble getting away from the soldiers who were on foot, but as soon as he was able to slip through their fingers, he knew that men on horses would be chasing after him soon. He didn't waste a second when he approached the cart Dan was hiding behind. “Danny, we have to go now!” Phil exclaimed urgently, completely disregarding the nickname. “What’s going on? Were you spotted?” Dan asked. “Yes, there's no time to talk. Clide is on his way,” Phil informed him. At those words, Dan sprung into motion. He took Phil's hand, and pulled himself up onto the horse, placing himself in front of Phil.

With no words spoken, Holly began to accelerate, but in the background, Dan could hear the sound of another pair of hooves, and knew that his master was quickly approaching. “There you are, boy!” He heard Clide’s angry, insane voice call from far behind them. Dan glanced behind Phil's body to see Clide coming up on the rear, a sinister look in his eye, and a sword in his hand. “Phil, we need to lose him,” Dan said, stating the obvious.

“I know, I have a plan,” Phil said, making a sharp turn at the end of the street. Clide was still very close to them, only meters away. But Phil's plan was to make enough turns and twists that Clide lost them. He turned down a completely barren alley, then onto another one, and another one, and another one, but the old priest persisted, never giving up. “This is harder than I thought it would be, we’ll have to slow him down,” Phil muttered into Dan’s ear.

Dan thought hard, what did they have that they could distract Clide with? Susie, who was on the back of the horse with them, was definitely not an option. Then Dan thought of something. “Your cape! Hand me your cape!” Dan said, Phil was unsure where this was heading, but he trusted Dan to make a good decision. Phil handed him the cloth, and Dan glanced back to see how close Clide had gotten. The neck of his horse was parallel to Phil’s horse's rear-end, close enough to touch Dan with his sword.

“I only wanted the best for you Daniel! And you turned against me, this is all your fault! You will recant by being mine, and mine alone, or burning at the stake!” Clide hissed bitterly, reaching his hand out towards Dan’s nightgown collar. “Get away from him you pervert!” Phil growled, pushing his hand away from Dan. “You stay out of this, Lester! You’re just an unnecessary nuisance who got in the way!” Clide barked, disregarding the General. Dan knew that he had to act fast, or they would be caught in no time. Dan took the cape in his hands, and held it out to the side, right in front of Clide’s face. Before Clide had time to react and pull back, Dan released the cape and it flew directly into the priest’s face, hindering both his eyesight and balance.

“AH!!” Clide screamed as he lost grip on his horse’s reins and tumbled to the ground as he tried to pull the cape off of his face. “Nice thinking Dan!” Phil praised, looking back at Clide, who was shakily pushing himself off the ground. “This isn’t the end, Daniel! I’ll find you if I have to burn down all of England!” Clide shouted after them as they rode off down the street, and around the next corner.

  
  



	12. God Dammit Clide, Why Won't You Just Die Already?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys this is another one where Clide puts his hands where they don't belong, so once more if that stuff bothers you I would recommend skipping the last third of this chapter. See ya later alligators!

After Daniel and the General had fled, and most likely escaped the city, Clide had regained his strength from falling off of the horse. He was an old man, he could not take falls like he used to. His hands stung and he felt dizzy, but Clide had to push on, he had to get his hands on that supple skin. Clide stumbled to his horse, and weakly pulled himself back up onto its back. He clutched the General’s cape in his hand, during the chase, the cape had been a curse, but now it was a blessing, a pathway to Daniel. Clide smirked at it, before trotting away. 

Clide headed straight for the church, where a large group of the soldiers had gathered. He arrived, and a soldier marched up to him and asked, “News on the fugitives?” Clide handed him the cape and said, “They escaped, but left a little present for us. Fetch the Bloodhounds, we will find them no matter what.” The soldier saluted and turned to his comrades, ordering for them to get the hounds. “They’ll never see me coming,” Clide murmured to himself with a devilish grin, Daniel would be his own in no time. 

\--------------

 

The sun was beginning to rise when Dan and Phil arrived at Dillington, the village was much smaller and quiet than London. Smoke rose from some chimneys, and there were even a few chickens laying about. “What was the pub named again?” Phil asked, taking in the town as they entered. “C&J’s, it shouldn’t be to difficult to find. I’m sure we’ll hear the most noise coming from it,” Dan reminded him. So they went up and down the streets, each window was dark, or had it’s blinds shut. The only building in the whole village, was the pub. They found it in the middle of town, Dan could hear the sound of music and laughter coming from within. “Are you ready?” Asked Phil. “Always, let’s go,” Dan said. So they dismounted the horse and walked cautiously towards the door.

Dan slowly pushed the door open, and it creaked so loudly and awkwardly, that nearly everybody in the pub turned to them. There were at least fifteen people inside, all of them were big, burly men who looked like they could kill Dan with their bare hands. “What do we have here? A monster and...General Philip Lester? What an odd duo, tell me General, have you come to set us on fire like the rest of London?” One of the less bulkier men asked. He was tall, had dark curly hair, blue eyes, and a charming smile. “No, we have come here for refuge. We are now wanted by the law,” Phil replied. “Tough. It’s too bad we don’t house whatever you call that thing,” The man said coldly, pointing his finger at Dan. “Hey, his name is Dan. Do you lack any compassion? He is human too?” Phil said to defend Dan. 

"Phil, it’s alright. I can take it,” Dan chuckled, he then turned his attention back to the other man. “As he said, my name is Daniel. Louise said that you would be able to provide a hideout until we are able to escape to a safer place,” Dan told him. The man’s expression softened at the mention of Louise. “Louise sent you? What a kind las. Why didn’t you say earlier, come on in! Share a drink with us! Any friend of Louise is a friend of mine,” The man said with a cheerful grin. “Oh thank you so much!” Dan said, again so thankful that he had met Louise. “No problem, I will show you to the back room. Just a warning, there is only one bed. Hopefully that isn’t too much of a problem,” The man said. Dan and Phil exchanged eye contact, smiling softly at each other and replying, “I don’t think that will be an issue,” Phil said. “Wonderful! Well, here it is. It’s not much, but it’s something. My name is PJ, if you need anything talk to me or the co-owner of this fine establishment, Chris.” With that, he shut the door, and left Dan and Phil truly alone for the first time since the Manor. 

At first, they just stood around in silence, unsure what to say to each other. “It’s only been just over a day, and you’ve made me someone completely new. When we leave on our journey, I know I can’t leave you behind. I don’t care what others think about us, you’re like this miracle to me Phil, you’ve changed me forever and I’m never leaving your side. This might be very premature, but I think I love you,” Dan admitted, inching closer and closer to Phil by the second. “I was just thinking the same thing, only I fell in love with you when I first laid my eyes upon you,” Phil responded, leaning his forehead against Dan’s. 

“Where do you think we should go when we leave?” Dan asked, he knew nothing about England’s cities, he knew almost nothing about anything, Phil would have to teach him. “I told you I live in Manchester, we could always stay there,” Phil suggested. “That sounds amazing,” Dan said, then leaned in to kiss him. This time, they could do so without distraction or hesitation, they wouldn't be interrupted. After a second or two, the kiss got more heated and desperate, and Dan began to feel a desire he had only felt a hand full of times in his life. 

He ran his fingers through Phil's silky, smooth, raven hair and whispered. “Would you like to lay down?” Phil didn’t have to say a word before he was shoving Dan towards the small, dirty bed that looked like it hadn't been cleaned in months. But they couldn't care less, it was better than nothing. Dan fumbled with the buttons on Phil's shirt, and in the heat of the moment wasn't paying attention to the sounds coming from the outside. The sound of his heart pounding and Phil's needy breathing masked the sound of all of the shouts and barking coming from the streets. 

They didn’t even hear the door to the pub bust open, as Clide stepped in with his sword, men, and dogs. The first thing Clide did when he stepped inside the pub, was take his sword and decapitate the man closest to the door. “Listen up you insolent thieves and thugs!” He yelled as the men stared in horror at their friend’s body spurting blood on the ground. “We’ll spare your lives, and leave you be, if you show us where they are! We know they’re here, so there is no point in lying!” PJ stood up from his seat at the bar and said, “Get out of my pub you vile man.” Clide sneered at him and shouted, “Guards, kill him!” But the men would have none of it, before any of the soldiers could attack, the townspeople in the pub ran at them with their fists and knives raised, no one threatened their people. 

Clide dodged out of the way and grabbed a leash of one of the dogs. “Find him boy! I know they’re here!” The bloodhound lowered his nose to the floor, and began to pull Clide to the back of the building where two doors were shut. Clide kicked open the first one, but it was an empty storage room with a bed in it, nothing of importance. Then he approached the next door, and a wide, knowing smile spread across his face. He didn’t pause a second before bursting into the room and exclaiming, “Hello, Daniel.” Sure enough, there were the two young men aghast at the sight of the priest in the doorway. But what Clide saw was far worse and gut wrenching. Dan sat on the bed straddling Phil, cupping his face after he had pulled away. Phil was just as disheveled, his army shirt unbuttoned and his hair messy. 

“Clide?!” Dan exclaimed in fear and confusion, trying to figure out how he had found them. “I should have known! From the Festival to now, I should have figured it out! You disgusting pieces of sodomizing trash! You know what? I had other plans for you Lester, but you have spoiled what was mine, and you will pay. GUARDS! THEY ARE IN HERE! SEIZE THEM!” A pair of soldiers ran into the room and forced Dan and Phil away from each other, forcing them to kneel on the ground while they handcuffed them. 

Clide watched in joy as they were put in chains and began to chuckle deeply, “You honestly thought you could run away together? Didn’t you? It might have worked too, if you hadn’t made one fatal flaw. You left the cape, which has Lester’s filthy stench all over it. You made the tracking job for the Bloodhounds far easier than it would have been,” Clide said to them. Dan sighed heavily, it had been his idea. This was his fault. He looked over to Phil to mouth the words “I’m sorry” but he whispered, “It wasn’t your fault. It doesn’t matter anyways.” 

One of the soldiers straightened up, and Clide gave him orders, “Do not worry about them, I will take them back to London. You just worry about all of the criminals in this pub, now hand them over.” So Dan and Phil were handed over to Clide, who took both of them by the collar and dragged them past the fighting and outside. He picked up a random rope he found lying on the ground next to a blacksmith shop, and used it to tie Dan and Phil together in a makeshift chain-line. He connected it to his horse’s reins, so that they would be forced to walk alongside him. 

“Where are you going to take us?” Phil asked as they began to walk. “You are not heading to the jailhouse, if that's what you mean. I have thought of a better punishment for the both of you after everything you've done,” Clide said, sending shivers down Dan’s back. What was he planning? Dan stuck as close to Phil as possible, he was his only moral support. “How are we going to escape this time?” Dan whispered so quietly it almost sounded like wind. “I say we wait until we get wherever we’re going to figure that out. I don't think he's planning to kill is just yet,” Phil answered vaguely. “What do you think he's going to do?” Dan wondered aloud. “I don't know. But my guess is that it will make us feel so defiled that we’d prefer death. 

Neither Dan nor Phil said anything after that, they just walked together in queasy, tense silence the rest of the way to London. When they arrived, the buildings that had been set on fire were still smoking and a few were even still burning. People who were still out and about at the time stopped whatever they were doing to stare as Dan and Phil were lead into the city with their heads hung low. People shouted and jeered at them, mostly Dan, for disrupting the “peace” in London. Not a single word was shouted at Clide, he was the hero for them in this situation, the one who had hunted down the evil men threatening the city and returned them in chains. 

Clide lead them into the center of the city, all the way to his church. “What are we doing here?” Dan muttered as Clide dismounted his horse. The priest stepped over to Dan and stroked the boy’s chin with his slender pointer finger. “You don't have to worry about that yet, my boy. Just follow me,” Clide then took them by the collars of their shirts and forced them to walk up the steps and into the church, where he slammed the huge doors shut and locked them from the inside. “We’ll be heading to your personal quarters General, take us there,” Clide instructed, and seeing no other choice, Phil obeyed. He lead them down the long, stone hallway past a staircase to his room, which was the way he had left it earlier that night. 

“Go over by the leg of your desk and sit down facing the bed,” Clide ordered, Phil begrudgingly complied, but at the same time looked all over for a usable weapon. Clide knelt down besides Phil and cuffed him to the leg of the desk, and as he did so, he leaned in centimeters away from Phil's ear, and whispered, “You have ruined what was mine, spoiled him before I could have him, made him run away from me, and for that, you get to watch as I fuck him.” Phil shoved him away with his feet and shouted in reply, “Don’t you touch him you creepy old bastard!” 

Dan, who was still on the rope and being held on to tightly by Clide. “What’s going on? What’s he going to do Phil?” Dan questioned, beginning to panic greatly. “He’s going to-” Phil tried to tell him, but Clide had taken out a handkerchief, balled it up, and shoved it into Phil’s mouth, preventing him from saying anything or screaming for help. “What are you going to do?” Dan asked, starting to cry softly in fear. He felt like he had the first time Clide had left him alone in the Manor, scared and hopeless, and like the whole world was caving in on him. Now the man that once made him feel safer than anything, was the one threatening his life. 

“Quiet my boy, I’ve only wanted one thing from you this entire time, and I’m going to have it now. Lay on the bed, on your back, I want to see all of the expressions on your beautiful face,” Clide said, pushing him towards the bed. “I don’t understand, you’ve always said my face was repulsive, why has that changed now?” Dan asked with a sniffle. “Oh my boy, I’ve never thought you were ugly. I just knew that other people would, they weren’t my words, I swear,” Clide convinced him as he used the rope and handcuffs to lock Dan to the bed. Clide gazed down at his handy work and bit his lip in eagerness and lust, which had officially consumed him like fire. 

“Spread your legs boy,” Clide barked, and as Dan hesitated, Clide knew he had to raise the stakes for him to comply. “Listen, Daniel. If you disobey me at any point during this endeavor, I will shove my sword through his heart, are we clear?” Clide asked, pointing to Phil, who was writhing against the desk as he tried to escape. Dan gasped, and his tears became worse. “Ye-yes I understand,” Dan stuttered. “Good, now legs apart,” Clide ordered, and this time Dan did it without hesitation. “Beautiful,” Clide muttered. He took his bony, elegant hands and placed them at Dan’s ankle, gliding them up and over his skin until he reached the boy’s thighs. “Oh how I love the way you quiver,” Clide breathed. 

At this point, Dan could not hold back the waterworks he was so terrified as to what was going to happen. Clide pushed Dan’s nightgown further up his legs, and slotted himself in between Dan’s legs. “Your so gorgeous when you cry,” Clide whispered just loud enough for Phil to hear. 

That was the last straw for Phil, he could not just sit back and let this atrocity happen to the man he loved. With all his might and energy, Phil pulled against the desk so hard and fast that it toppled to the ground. The papers flew everywhere and the ink on the desk spilled all over the ground, but Phil didn’t care. He quickly unhooked his handcuffs, took out his mouth gag, and before Clide could react or stop him, Phil took the chair from the desk and smashed it over the old man’s back. He screamed in pain and rolled off the bed, giving Phil the space and time to release Dan from his restraints. 

Maybe it was stupid, but Phil stopped right then and there to give Dan a comforting hug. “Shhh, you’re safe now. I won’t let him touch you, I promise,” Phil whispered softly into his ear as he stroked Dan’s hair and rocked him back and forth. “Let’s just-let’s just get out of here,” Dan sniffled, he would never be able to forget that disturbing experience out of his head even again. “Good idea, come on,” Phil said, helping Dan to his feet and leaving the room hastily. “You will not escape me, and if you will not let me take you, I will smite you in the name of god!” Clide yelled, he had officially lost his mind. Clide grabbed his long sword from the ground, and desperately swung it at Phil’s lower leg. 

Phil screamed in pain as he toppled to the ground, losing his grip on Dan. Clide shoved Dan out of the way and hit Phil over the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking him out instantly. “No!” Dan exclaimed as Phil's unconscious body collapsed to the floor. “Shut up boy! I have officially had enough of your disobedience! If you will not satisfy my needs and do what I say, I will just have to get rid of the problem and incinerate you like I incinerated your family!” Dan began to back slowly away from him, but Clide was not in the mood to be merciful. 

He lurched forwards and hit Dan right in the head with his sword the way he had hit Phil, and everything went black.


	13. DanisAlmostonFire.

 When Dan woke up, he tried to move, but as he gained his consciousness he began to realize that he had been tied to a wooden pyre, and underneath him was a mountain of sticks. He was on a stage, and hundreds of people were gathered around it, cheering and shouting up at him. At the front of the stage, Dan could see the tall, thin figure of Clide holding a torch, speaking to the people in the crowd. Across the stage, he saw Phil in the same position as him, struggling against his rope. 

   Dan then honed in on what Clide was shouting to the crowd, “These men have assaulted me, ran from the law, conspired with criminals, committed treason, and committed the horrendous crime of homosexuality. For that, they will burn one at a time! Starting with General Philip Lester!” After hearing that, Dan began to freak out and fight against the rope to no avail. “I've got to save him!” Dan muttered to himself, trying to think of a way he could possibly get out.

   “You can't save him, you're too weak, there's no way,” Dan answered to himself. “But I have to try. I love him,” Dan argued. “Are you really willing to die for a man you just met?” Dan asked himself. “For him yes, he's everything to me. Without him my life would be an empty shell of what is was, I have to stop Clide, and that's final,” Dan convinced himself. He knew that he couldn't force himself out of the ropes, but he could trick his master into letting him go.

   But it was too late, before Dan could try and do anything, Clide set the sticks under Phil's feet ablaz. “Phil!” Dan screamed across the stage. Clide strode over to Dan and smacked him in the face, “Shut up! You will watch him die in silence!” Clide exclaimed. Dan raised a teasing eyebrow, he knew very well how to get Clide to let him down. It tore out his heart, and he prayed Phil knew he was lying, when he looked up at Clide and said, “I’ll let him burn, if you spare my life, sir.” Dan knew that would get him hot and bothered, and it certainly worked. Clide shifted awkwardly before stammering, “You-you have had more than enough chances to spare yourself! I will not let your trickery fool me!”

  Dan pouted his lips, and replied with bile in his throat, “But wouldn’t be so nice, master, to be completely intertwined? I'm just so young and innocent, and before I die would like to know how much pleasure my body can take, sir.” Clide swallowed, he was bright red, and holding the torch so tight he had white knuckles, his restraint was slowly melting away. “No, you're trying to fool me aren't you? I will not give in to your satanic temptations any longer!” Clide tried to tell himself, pretending he didn't long to be inside of the young man.

   “Why would I try to trick you, master? I just want it so badly,” Dan lied once more, feeling disgusted at himself, but it was for Phil. Clide couldn't resist his burning desire any longer, with no thought other than sex in his head, he had no choice but to untie the rope, and let Dan down. He began to drag him back into the cathedral, which was right behind them, but instantly Dan shoved him off the short stage onto the cold, hard ground. “Damn you Daniel! I knew you weren't to be trusted!” Clide shouted from the ground in pain, but Dan completely disregarded him. He ran over to Phil’s pyre, and sighed in relief when he saw the flames had not yet reached Phil's skin. He quickly untied Phil from the pyre after dousing the fire in a bucket of water on the stage that was meant for emergencies, and took him down hastily.

   Phil was unconscious again, Dan could feel him breathing, but it was very slow and uneven. With all of his might, he threw Phil over his shoulder and ran with him into the church. The crowd was now going wild, whether they were happy or angry was a mystery to Dan, but all he knew what that their cheering and jumping made it hard for Clide to follow Dan in, and Dan was able to get inside the church long before the priest. He laid Phil's sleeping body on a pew, and tried to think of a way he could fight against Clide when he did arrive.

   Dan gathered a bunch of miscellaneous items around the room, like tables and chairs, to stack up behind the door so Clide could not open it easily. He also took a broom, and placed it in the handles it to keep the doors from opening. “OK, what can I do next?”  Dan asked himself, looking around for a weapon to use. Then, before he could take the next step in defense, he heard a banging at the door. “I’VE HAD ENOUGH!! SAY YOUR FINAL WORDS DANIEL, BECAUSE YOU ARE GOING TO DIE AT LAST BY MY HANDS!!” Clide shouted loudly from the opposite side of the door. Then the sound of axes chopping away at the wooden doors filled the air, and Dan began to panic once more.

   Dan knew there was only one way to go, and that was up. Before running down the hall to the stairs, he dragged the huge crucifixion into the aisle and laid it horizontally against the aisle so there was some sort of a barrier. He then Phil from the pew, and before running towards the hall with the staircase, tossed a whole bunch of lit candles onto the wooden pews, causing them to go up in flames in seconds. Dan ran up the steep, winding staircase, floor after floor, until he was able to reach the roof of the church. He set Phil on some crates in the corner of the roof, and thought of ways he could possibly prevent Clide from reaching them.

   Meanwhile, way down on the ground, Louise Pentland made her way onto the wooden stage, ignoring all of the guards attempting to stop her. She would not let her friend die if it was the last thing she did. “People of London! We have let this cruel man burn down our homes, kill our friends and family, and now he has decided to attack the church! Will we allow this?!” She cried, making a successful attempt to rally the citizens. “No!” They all yelled in unison. “Then let ‘em have!” Louise shouted, pointing at the soldiers helping Clide.

   The people cheered loudly, and charged at the guards with their fists, pocket knives, and even some torches. They fought tooth and nail to get the soldiers away from the doors, and it worked as a fantastic distraction, Clide was quickly losing men as they fought back against the civilians. But a good dozen of them pressed on, hacking away at the church doors. During the fight, the stage with the small pyres on them had somehow been set on fire, meaning that every citizen and soldier on it as it went up in flames was set on fire and ran screaming.

   Clide ignored everything going on behind him, this was his holy conquest and nothing could stop him, not even the hottest fire. Clide and the soldiers chipped away at the wooden doors with all their strength, until finally a whole big enough see through appeared. “Soldiers, help your comrades down here. I will finish taking down the door, and obliterating the demons, fight men, fight!” Clide ordered, and the men did as they were told. Turning away and rushing into the crowd.

   Clide finished the job by knocking out pieces of wood with his sword, he split the broom blocking the door in half, and climbed over the miscellaneous items Dan had used to barricade the door. Clide landed on the marble floor with his sword raised. The ground floor was a fiery pit, but that didn't mean Dan wasn't waiting for him behind a stone pillar. He pushed through flames, experiencing serious deja vu to the past Clide had tried to forget for so many years.

He was so lost in his memories and the smoke, he didn't see the enormous statue lying on the ground. 

   Clide tripped over it and flew to the ground, sending his sword flying across the church. “Damnit!” Clide cursed, getting to his feet and kicking the bronze statue. “He must have gone up,” Clide thought to himself. Before heading on his way, he debated going after his sword or not. But decided that it was too dangerous, and that he could kill Daniel in some other manner. With a devilish, insane, grin, Clide made his way to the stairwell.

   Dan watched from above in amazement, so proud to call Louise his friend. He just hoped she had gotten off the stage in time. After watching the fight for a minute or two, Dan turned back to Phil, whose eyes were still closed. “He should be up by now,” Dan said to himself. Dan walked over to his still body and knelt beside him. “Phil, you have to wake up, please. Clide will come and he's going to kill you if you don't wake up,” Dan said, shaking Phil gently, but he made no movement. “Phil, wake up, come on, wake up love,” Dan said, feeling his voice start to break, he didn't hear the light footsteps coming up behind him.

  “He's dead, Daniel,” a familiar, slimy voice that Dan had come to loathe said. “He's fine, he's fine,” Dan repeated over and over again, mostly trying to convince himself while pressing Phil's cold hand against his face. “It’s over boy, he may not have come in contact with the fire, but he inhaled too much smoke. He's gone, and you're next,” Clide said, approaching Dan from behind. “I-I don't care any more. Do it, kill me, nothing matters without him,” Dan sobbed, ready to face his demise. “If you insist,” Clide said with a small chuckle.

   Since Clide was weaponless, he only choice was to choke him to death, or to toss him over the edge of the roof. He chose the latter of the options. Clide hoisted Dan up by the collar without resistance, and carried him all the way over to the ledge of the roof. “I'll give you one last chance, my boy. We can go back to way it was, living peacefully in the manor, with the one condition being that you let me have you whenever I please. Or, you will splatter against the ground and decorate it with your blood” Clide offered one last time, trying to be as merciful he could. “I would rather die, let you touch me again,” Dan retorted, bracing himself for the fall. “So be it. In the name of god, I banish you to depths of hell where you belong! Goodbye, Daniel,” then, like some sort of miracle, out of the corner of Dan’s eye he saw Phil shakily sit up.

  “Dan?” He called out, too dazed to see what was happening. “Phil!” Dan exclaimed happily, all the hope and energy that had been drained from his body, had returned at the sight of his blue eyed beauty waking up. Clide, knew this, as he watched life return to Dan’s eyes. “Daniel-” Clide tried to say, but it was useless, Dan now had the will to fight. Dan thrusted his master to the ground, and ran to Phil. “What’s happening? Dan where are we?” He asked with so many questions running through his head. Dan, however, couldn't stay around and answer, so he just responded with, “Just stay here, alright? We’ll be safe soon.” Then Dan stood up and went over to where Clide was just beginning to stand up.

  He took the old man by the collar of his black robes, and lifted him up off the ground, taking him to the edge of the roof. “Daniel, my boy, think of what you're doing! You don't want to do this!” Clide pleaded, struggling against Dan’s grip. “You will never harm anyone again, goodbye Clide. I hope you burn in hell where you belong,” was all Dan said to him before tossing him off the roof into the fire and into the burning stage. “DAMN YOU TO HELL!!” Clide screamed as he plummeted to the ground, and when Dan saw him smash into the burning stage, all the weight on his shoulders gradually melted away, until nothing but release and bliss was left. “Dan,” Phil said again. Dan turned to see him looking over with wide, shocked eyes. “Did you just…”

  “Yes. He's gone now, we’re safe Phil. We can go home,” Dan told him, leaning against the ledge. He got no response. Without saying a thing, Phil weakly got off of the wooden boxes and staggered over to Dan with outreached arms. “Be careful, you're too fragile, I don't want you more injured than necessary,” Dan warned as Phil wrapped his warm body around Dan, engulfing him in a hug. “What are we going to do next?” Phil asked, looking down and the people down below, looking up at them in curiosity. It seemed as if all of the madness had stopped when Clide fell to the ground, and all of the attention from the people below had turned to the roof.

  “What do you want to do? We could leave for Manchester now, or stay in London and help with the clean up and mess Clide caused,” Dan suggested. “I don't know. There's only one thing I can think of doing right now,” Phil said. Dan raised his eyebrow at him, “What?” Phil smirked at him and replied, “Kiss you.” Dan objected greatly, “Phil hundreds of people are watching right now you can’t-” but he was swiftly cut off by Phil's soft lips against his, he was slow to reciprocate due to the publicness of it all, but he eventually gave in to it and melted into the kiss. The only sound heard was the simultaneous gasps of the people down below, whatever chance they might have had at blending into society was now diminished.

 


	14. The Somewhat Happy, Gay Ending.

   They parted lips, and at first Dan was in some sort of dreamy daze, but that withered away quickly when he remembered where they were and how many people were watching them. “Phil...do you realize what you have just done?” Dan exclaimed, staring down in horror at the whispering crowd on the ground. “Yes, but I don't care. I want the whole world to know how I feel about you, even if that means prosecution. I don't want to sneak around pretending like you're only a friend, that would be tiresome and end up badly for the both of us,” Phil declared. “I see where you are coming from love, but so many people know now,” Dan said, looking down at all of the people. “And I don’t care. For now, why don’t we go to the ground, we can make decisions from down there,” Phil replied, stepping towards the hatch door. 

   They walked down the staircase steadily, as Phil was still frail from all the smoke he inhaled. Dan had nearly forgotten that he’d set the first floor of the cathedral on fire, somehow it had already been put out during the time they had been up there. Ashes were everywhere and Dan could see Clide’s old sword lying on the ground across the room. “Do you feel bad? At all? He did raise you for twenty-six years,” Phil asked, noticing the way Dan stared at the sword. “Will I miss having a father figure? Yes. Will I miss the man who manipulated me for my whole life, tried to rape me, kill me, kill you, and kill hundreds of people? Certainly not, his memory is nothing but a dirty smear to me now,” Dan explained, scowling at the sword and quickly turning away. “Fair enough, let’s move on,” Phil said. So they made their way down the aisle, and after exchanging nervous eye contact, pulled the huge doors open, letting the light pour over them.

   There was no cheering, like there might have been if they hadn’t kissed in front of everyone. Only dead silence as they made their way down the stairs. When they were level with the crowd, people parted like oil to water as they walked forwards. The only people to stop them were Louise, and PJ from the pub. “You guys, what did you do?” Louise asked with an extremely concerned voice. “I couldn’t help myself, we were in the moment with all the adrenaline, and it just happened,” Phil explained, avoiding Louise’s gaze. “Well, adrenaline or not, that was really stupid. You’ll be shunned from society for the rest of your lives everywhere you go. Even if you run away now, this will catch up with you,” Louise told them. “I’m used to it, I can manage it, I’m just not sure about you Phil, you have always been well accepted by people,” Dan said, turning to his general.

   “It is alright Dan, I can manage if I have you besides me,” Phil said with a smile. Dan almost cringed it was so sappy, but went along with it. “Maybe we don't have to go to Manchester then. Maybe we could just live in my manor,” Dan answered, thinking of the wonderful life they could have together alone in that place. “That’s a wonderful idea Dan. We can leave the city as soon as possible, unless you would like us to stay and help with the cleanup, considering the fact we were the reason for it's destruction,” Phil offered, turning to Louise and PJ.

   “I'm sorry guys, if it were just me, I would love to have you guys stay and help. But most of these people would be appalled by you, it would just be best for you to leave as soon as possible,” PJ chimed in with sad eyes. “That’s OK. We were expecting that anyways. Come on Dan, let's go get our horses,” Phil said, wrapping an arm around Dan’s waist. “Wait! Before you leave, we need to return one last thing to you,” PJ announced. Dan and Phil turned around to see Susie bounding towards them with her tongue sticking out.

   “Susie! I almost forgot about her! Where was she?” Dan asked as he bent down and greeted the dog enthusiastically. “You left her at our pub, I assumed you would want her back,” PJ responded, beaming at the reunion. “Thank you, thank you so much for returning her. We are in your debt. If you need anything, we’ll be about thirty minutes to the north of London. You can't miss the place. Goodbye, friends, we wish you the best of luck,” Dan said, before taking Susie in his arms, and continuing to collect the horses.

  A soldier told them where the steeds were, and Dan and Phil reached them in no time, not speaking a single word. When they arrived at the stables the horses were in, Phil mounted his horse, and Dan mounted Clide’s old horse which was now his, and they began trot away. As they navigated through the gaping people in the streets, Dan asked, “Are you sure you’re OK with living in solitude? Are you sure you’ll be happy?” Phil laughed softly and replied, “Of course I'll be happy Dan. I have you, and Susie, and I'm sure we won't always be inside the home. Somebody will have to do the shopping.” Dan laughed, and with that, they broke out into a gallop and swiftly exited the city.

Soon enough, they reached the entrance to the Manor. Dan looked up at it with a certain sadness and longing, life there would never be the same again now that he knew the story behind the house. “Is everything OK Dan?” Phil asked, helping him dismount his horse. “Yeah...everything is fine. I'm just going to need a little time to reflect, and to get the chance to finally mourn properly for my family,” Dan admitted, gazing up at the Manor, he couldn't help but feel like an ant under its intimidating shadow.

   “I'll do anything you need. But first, let's go inside, eat, and take a nap. I'm exhausted and I'm sure you are too,” Phil said, and Dan nodded in agreement. They brought the horses to the stables, and with Susie in Dan’s arms, disappeared into the Manor.

 

**5 years later**

 

   “Phil! Are you seriously eating my cookies again? I baked those for myself yesterday!” Dan exclaimed as he stood in the kitchen doorway watching Phil munch on Dan’s shortbread cookies. “I was just-uh-testing to make sure they weren't poisonous or anything,” Phil lied, knowing very well Dan could tell he was spouting nonsense. “Phil when will you be stopped! This is ridiculous!” Dan yelled, but he wasn't too angry, he was used to Phil stealing his food at this point. In fact, it was kind of endearing. 

  “What are you going to do? Throw me off a building?” Phil teased, that had become a common taunt towards Dan in the household. “Did you just? Oh you're in for in now Lester!” Dan laughed, lunging for Phil. Phil dropped the cookie he was eating on the counter and squealed loudly before making a break for it. He dashed out of the kitchen, but Dan was fairly close behind him as he chased him down the hallway. Susie, who had been sleeping in the grand foyer had been awoken by all of the racket, and when she saw there was a chase going on, joined in cheerfully. Phil ran across the foyer, down the hall, and all the way to the ballroom. But as soon as he paused to swing the doors open, Dan tackled him and knocked him to the ground, falling along with him. “Now look what you’ve done, we’re on the floor,” Dan said with a wide grin. “Look what I’ve done? You’re the one who pushed me down,” Phil giggled. “Oh...shut up!” Dan laughed, beginning to get to his feet. “Make me!” Phil sassed back with a cocky smirk. “If you insist,” Dan replied, a huge beam on his face as he lowered his lips onto Phil’s.

   It seemed like hours, that Dan sat on Phil’s lap kissing him. Heat and electricity flowed between them even after five years together, there was no doubt in Dan’s mind that Phil was the love of his life. He just wished they could get married. Phil made him happier than he could ever imagine, and Dan did the same for Phil. “You...make...me...feel...so...beautiful…” Dan said, spacing his words in between kisses. Phil pulled away, ignoring the lustful burning in his stomach. “That’s because you are, Danny,” Phil said, placing a soft kiss on his scarred cheek. “I’ve told you that everyday for the past five years, do you still not believe me?”  Dan sighed, how could a man be so kind. “I believe you,” Dan answered, blushing heavily. “Fantastic, now let’s get to our feet, go into the ballroom, and dance.” Phil ordered, getting out from under Dan and pulling him to his feet.

  They stepped into the ballroom, and began to sway back and forth to nothing but silence. Phil rested his head against Dan’s shoulder, and said, “I love you,” and Dan replied, “I love you too.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How's that for a Cheesy ending? But I don't care if it's the cheesiest thing in the world, because we all need some Gouda in our lives. (Except for Phil Lester, who is lactose intolerant and hates cheese) To conclude formally, I'd like to say I hope it was decent enough and that there weren't too many typos. Thanks for reading, bye-bye!


End file.
